Unregulated
by Jenny70529
Summary: A complicated case causes Greg and Sara to reevaluate their relationship. SaraGreg
1. Lost

_Eeks! Another WIP! Hope you guys enjoy this first bit...let me know if you think it's worth continuing or not. _

_Jenny_

**Unregulated:**

Sara slammed her locker door shut, sinking onto the bench with a sigh. Burying her head in her hands, she bent over and rested her arms on her lap. She had worked two long shifts, and had just been coerced into working another. She had been a good sport so far, she really enjoyed her job, and working gave her something to do, but it was getting to the point where she wasn't sure she was going to put up with being walked over anymore.

Nevertheless, she took a few deep breaths, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she changed into a fresh outfit. After a normal shift, her clothes smelled pretty bad. After a double, it was definitely time to change. If she worked a triple in the same outfit, she'd probably have to peel it off by her fourth shift. As the thought crossed her mind, she offered a silent prayer that there wouldn't be a fourth shift. If she wasn't given the night off after working 24 solid hours, it would definitely be time to find a new job.

"What's the story, morning glory?" Greg asked, strolling into the locker room and twisting the dial on his own lock, "You're here awfully early...or late?"

"Don't tell me I'll have to put up with your peppiness on this case." Sara groaned, sinking back onto the bench, "I'm not in the mood to smile, so don't even try."

"Triple?" Greg asked, his cheery tone quickly muted, "Why don't you just tell Grissom no?"

Sara yawned, looking up at the younger CSI with a shocked expression, "They're reopening a lead position, I've got to get that promotion. If Grissom tells me to stand on my head and eat blow fly eggs, I...well, I probably wouldn't do it, but I'd sure as hell consider."

"Didn't Nick win that position last time?"

"That was 2 years ago. I'd like to think I've advanced some since then." Sara replied sarcastically, "Doesn't hurt to try. Besides, I don't even think Nick is running."

Greg raised an eyebrow, "I'd beg to differ. He and Warrick were talking about it last night. You were there. Breakroom, before shift?"

"Oh, I wasn't paying attention to those two." Sara replied, a scowl on her face, "Do you think I could make it?"

Greg held up his hands, "Not getting in the middle of this. You and Nick are both my friends, I won't pick between the two of you."

"That's a no?"

"That's a nothing." Greg replied, "Ready to go, we've got ourselves a 3 hour drive."

Sara stood, noticing a smirk on Greg's face. "What?" She snapped, "What's so funny?"

Greg said nothing, walking past her into the hallway, humming the "Gilligan's Island" theme song. Trailing behind him, she rolled her eyes, muttering, "What an idiot."

"Heard that!" Greg called, resuming his humming, "I'm driving."

With a groan, Sara sped up her pace, catching up to the still whistling Greg. This was going to be a long, long day.

--

"What do you mean, you lost the body?" Sara practically yelled at the officer, her eyes wide, "How the hell do you lose a dead body?"

Officer McClellan grimaced, motioning to his car, "We're in the middle of the desert, no one has come by all day. I was waiting for you guys, and I got hungry..."

"You've got to be kidding me." Sara hissed, "You left the scene to get a hamburger?"

His eyes downcast, Officer McClellan muttered, "Chili Dog."

"Does it really matter what you ate, Officer?" Greg asked, before Sara completely blew up, "What time was this?"

The officer looked down at his watch, "I got back about half an hour before you two arrived. You aren't going to tell my supervisor about this, are you? I could lose my job."

"How do you care to explain the missing body?" Sara asked impatiently, "If we don't include this in our report? Our dead victim just got up and walked away? We aren't going to lie for our reports, we have to document everything."

"But--"

"Save yourself the trouble of defending yourself, we have work to do. Body or not, this area has to be processed." Sara hardened her gaze on the officer, "_Stay Put._"

Officer McClellan nodded glumly as Greg and Sara started walking to the pool of blood, where the body once laid. Greg stole a glance at an irritated Sara, asking softly, "Don't you think you were a bit hard on him?"

"He lost a dead body. What do you think we should do? How many people do you know who are that irresponsible?" Sara snapped, squatting next to the blood stained dirt, "I've been on the clock for 22 hours. What do you expect from me? I'm in no mood to deal with stupid people."

Greg remained silent, pulling out the camera to begin taking pictures while Sara swabbed the blood and bagged the few shreds of clothing that remained on the site. After a few seconds, Greg called out, "Sar? I've got footprints."

Sara stood, her back cracking as she tried to work the kinks out of her weary body. She walked to Greg, snapping a photo of the ground, "Let's follow them."

"Want me to get the officer?"

"He can't keep track of a dead guy, how do you think he can keep us safe?" Sara retorted, "Got your gun?"

Greg nodded, putting his hand to his waistband, "Yeah. Let's go."

"I'll leave my kit here, just let me grab some supplies." Sara walked to her kit, sticking a few swabs and evidence bags into the pockets of her vest. She hung her camera around her neck and retrieved a bottle of water, "Ready?"

"Let's do it."

--

The sun had long ago set over the hot Nevada desert, and a shiver passed through Sara, making her wish she had brought a jacket. She glanced at her watch, cursing softly, "Greg, it's 9:15."

"What the hell do you expect me to do?" Greg asked harshly, "I called the officer, he said he'd meet us down here with David. We can't just leave the body here."

Sara shivered again, rubbing her arms for warmth, "That was two hours ago. It shouldn't take them that long to get down here. I don't like being out here in the dark, it's dangerous."

"That's why we should have taken McClellan from the get go." Greg replied cooly, "But you wanted to go off on our own. 'We have our guns'. Remember?"

Sara nervously surveyed the area, listening for any unusual sounds, "That was in the broad daylight. I didn't think we'd find the body. What the hell are we going to do if whoever took this guy, and possibly killed this guy, comes back?"

"Scream like girls and haul ass?" Greg suggested, only to be swatted on the arm by an irate Sara. He signed, "Listen, we'll watch each other's backs, and I'm sure they'll get here soon. I'll call again, if you'd like."

"Remember how hard it was for us to get a signal out here?" Sara questioned, "What makes you think it will be so easy to call them back? I just want to get back into the car and drive home. I'm hungry, I'm tired, I don't want to be here anymore."

Greg sighed, checking his cell phone for signal and cursing when he was rewarded with nothing, "Look, we'll leave flares at the body or mark our way back with something, that way David can get down here and we can go back to our original location. We'll finish up and head back to the lab, and you can sleep on the way."

"Definitely wouldn't be following protocol."

"Being out here alone isn't following protocol either."

Sara groaned, "Okay, you're right. Let's get out of here."

She took a step away from the body, a slight breeze making her skin freeze, "Which way did we come from?"

"I thought you were monitoring that."

Sara groaned, raising her hands to her forehead as she stomped her foot angrily, "Are you telling me that you have no idea where we are at? That we're just stuck in the middle of nowhere with some dead guy? Is that what you're trying to say!"

"That about sums it up." Greg muttered with a heavy sigh, trailing his foot through the dirt, "We're lost."

_TBC_


	2. Found

_Hey all: Sorry it took me an entire week to get this out...real life has been extremely hectic. Any mistakes you find are definitely mine, my wonderful pal/beta reader/inspiration/writing guru is out of town right now so this is purely me. _

_As always, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Replies make the chapters come, they're like fuel for the mind. Love it, hate it, whatever...just let me know. _

_Jenny_

Chapter Two:

"We should just start walking, it's not like we're going to wander the desert forever, there's bound to be a road somewhere." Sara said anxiously, glancing down at her watch, "It's after 10. They're going to get worried about us."

Greg shook his head, "When you're lost, you're supposed to stay where you are until someone finds you."

"Unless no one has any idea where you are. If we stay sitting in the middle of the desert, we're liable to end up like this guy." Sara replied, gesturing to their victim, "And you know as well as I do, he's going to start decomposing soon."

"And we're just going to leave him here?" Greg asked incredulously, "We can't just leave him here."

Rolling her eyes, Sara responded, "We'll leave a trail to get back to him. Use evidence markers or something. I don't care. I'm not staying here."

"What if David and Officer McClellan show up five minutes after we leave?" Greg asked nervously, "Grissom would have a fit if he found out we left the body unattended."

Sara crossed her arms, "So you think Grissom would rather us freeze to death out here? Or perhaps get murdered by whoever did this to our vic? Or, wait, I'm sure he wants us to catch heat stroke tomorrow while we sit in direct sunlight. Do any of these ideas sound pleasant to you, Sanders?"

"I'll stay here, you walk around a bit, try to get a signal on the cell phone." Greg suggested, "If you don't go too far, when they get here, we just have to come and get you. And if you can get a signal, you can ask them where they hell they are."

Sara shook her head defiantly, "And if the killer comes back while you're here alone? I'm not going to have you get murdered on my watch, Greg."

"So you stay here and I'll go." Greg offered, ducking as she threw her empty water bottle at him, "What?"

Sara crossed her arms haughtily, "You'd leave me here to die?"

"Believe me, they'd listen to you for one minute and haul ass with the mood your'e in tonight." Greg waited for a punch on the arm, but was met with silence as Sara dropped to the ground, sighing heavily.

"So what are we going to do until they get here?" Sara asked in defeat, staring up at the sky, "And don't turn that into a dirty insinuation."

"Who me?" Greg asked innocently, sitting down beside her, "I'm sure they'll get here soon."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Greg said quietly, "We could play the alphabet game."

"What the hell is the alphabet game?" Sara asked, resting her head on her knees as she turned to face Greg with a tired yawn.

Greg reached into his kit, rummaging around for the long sleeved flannel shirt he kept for the drive back from gruesome crime scenes. Silently, he wrapped it around Sara's shivering shoulders and replied with a shrug, "You pick a category, like cities or names or food, and then we take turns going through the alphabet and naming one. Whoever can't think of one, loses."

"How old are you, five?" Sara laughed, closing her eyes for a moment, "Okay, cities."

"Albuquerque."

"Boise."

"Chicago."

"Denver."

"El Paso."

"Fairfax."

"Grand Rapids."

"This is boring." Sara yawned, "Let's do something else."

Greg wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him, "Close your eyes and take a nap, I'll wake you if I hear something."

"Are you serious?"

"Are you trying to go for the world record for number of days without sleep? Stop talking and get some rest." He nudged her gently, "You won't be any good to me delirious and weak from exhaustion."

"What exactly are you planning on doing with me?" Sara asked, yawning again, "And if you make a dirty comment, I'm going to rip--"

Greg squeezed her gently, "Got it, Got it."

"Henderson. Hammond. Houston."

"What?" Greg asked with a small laugh, "What are you talking about?"

"H cities. Henderson."

"Oh. Um. Indianapolis."

"Juneau."

"Kansas City."

Before Sara could respond, a voice spoke from behind them, "I see you two are working hard tonight."

"David!" Sara exclaimed, jumping to her feet, "Thank God you are here. We were starting to think we'd be lost out here all night."

"Lost?" David laughed, "You're barely 2 miles away from the primary scene. I would have been here sooner, but the van was giving me some trouble and I got tied up on the side of the highway."

Sara looked at the ground, dragging her foot through the dirt, "Whatever."

"Seriously, I followed your footsteps the entire way out here. How could you not find your way back?" David asked, assessing the best way to remove the body while occasionally glancing up at the CSI duo.

Greg and Sara stood in silence, both embarrassed and feeling pretty lousy about themselves. David motioned for one of his assistants to bring the gurney over, and turned back to Sara, "Nice shirt, it's different from your usual style."

Sara realized she was still wearing Greg's flannel and practically ripped it from her body, tossing it at the CSI while moving closer to David and the body, "It's getting cold, I borrowed it from Greg."

"Hey, whatever you two are doing is none of my business." He instructed his assistant to place the body in the body bag before looking back at Sara, "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks man." Greg said excitedly, assuming David was talking about them getting themselves lost, "You really are a great guy."

Looking down, embarrassed, David helped his worker get the bag secured, "Let's get out of here." He glanced at Greg and Sara, a smile gracing his lips, "Why don't you two follow me back, just to be on the safe side."

"Very funny, you're a regular comedian." Sara muttered, trailing behind David, Greg not too far behind.

--

It only took an hour to wrap up at the primary crime scene, and by midnight they were ready to head back to the lab.

"I'm driving." Greg announced as they loaded their kits and evidence bags into the trunk of the SUV.

Sara shrugged, shivering slightly as the cold air gnawed at her exposed arms, "If you want to."

"No sarcasm? No protesting? Who are you, and what have you done to Sara?" Greg joked, watching her curiously. He knew she was tired, but even when she was trying her hardest to remain awake, she still liked to maintain control.

Sara rubbed her eyes and yawned sleepily, "I'm exhausted. You drive, I'll take a nap so I can actually finish this shift." She paused, waiting for him to take a step back so she could shut the door for the trunk, "No loud music."

"Hey!" Greg protested, "I'll need something to drown out the sounds of you snoring."

"Shut up." Sara muttered, climbing in the passenger seat and shutting the door behind her, a smile gracing her lips once she was out of Greg's line of vision. Most people would have given up on having even a simple conversation with her right now. Greg, on the other hand, never seemed to quit.

They had only been on the road for a few minutes when Sara fell asleep, and before she knew it, Greg was shaking her awake as he turned off the ignition.

"Were's here, Sara, wake up." he whispered, shaking her shoulder gently, "Wake up or I'll be forced to pull a 'Sleeping Beauty' on you."

Sara's eyes slowly opened, and she yawned tiredly, stretching as she tried to focus, "We're back already?"

"Yeah, you take a few minutes to wake up and I'll bring everything inside." Greg said quietly, opening his door and unlatching the trunk.

The moment he walked into the building, all conversations went from a normal tone to a whisper. Greg rounded the corner to the break room, hoping for coffee, when he came face to face with Nick and Warrick, who wore matching smiles on their faces.

"Way to go, man. Only you..." Nick said with a smirk, patting Greg on the back as he and Warrick walked out of the room.

Alone in the room, Greg frowned. Had the news of them being lost spread around the lab already? How could they possibly know. It was moments like these where he wished he had been a CSI long enough to get some good dirt on the guys to throw back at them when they started to tease him for his mistakes.

With a sigh, he poured himself a cup of coffee, suddenly exhausted.

Meanwhile, the moment Sara got out of the SUV, she headed straight for the locker room, intent on changing her clothes so she could go home and get some sleep. Since she was over halfway into her 4th shift, she didn't think Grissom would mind too terribly much, at least she hoped not.

She barely looked up as Catherine entered the room, followed by Nick and Warrick.

"I'll ride with you, and Warrick can follow us, that way we'll have a vehicle available to transport evidence back mid-investigation." Catherine said over her shoulder to Nick, stopping at her locker and spinning the dial.

Catherine looked up as Sara tiredly slammed her locker shut, sinking down onto a bench. "Hey," She said quietly to the brunette, "Heard about you and Greg. Wanna talk about it?"

"There's not much to tell." Sara said with a shrug, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "Just some carelessness, bad communication, and, well, it just happened."

Catherine gave Sara a surprised look, she hadn't expected Sara's reaction to be so...negative. With a shrug, she stood up, patting Sara on the shoulder, "Well, if you need anything..."

"Thanks." Sara replied, standing and slipping on her jacket, "I'm headed home."

"Nick, Warrick, and I have a homicide. Looks like we'll be working a double."

Sara smirked, "Better you than me."

She made it to the doorway before Warrick stepped in front of her, "So, you and Sanders?"

"It's not a big deal." Sara said sleepily, pushing past him and walking towards the exit. So they got lost for a few hours, big deal. Everyone was acting like it was the hottest piece of gossip ages. It wasn't like they had to spend the night outside and were at the brink of death before being rescued.

As she opened the door to her car, all she could do was shake her head and reflect on how little of a life her colleagues had if this was all they could talk about.

Despite how tired she felt, she decided she needed to unwind before going home, and didn't particularly want to be alone. Picking up her cell phone, she dialed Greg's number, suddenly nervous about the call.

"Sanders."

"It's me. Want to go out for a drink or something?"

"Like, right now?" Greg asked, glancing at the clock, "We're still on shift."

"We've both put our hours in for the day, and our case certainly isn't going to warrant overtime...check with Grissom and let me know. I'm in the parking lot."

"Grissom isn't even here, he's out on location. Don't move, I'm coming." Greg hastily decided. He had waited a long, long time for Sara to ask him out, and he wasn't going to blow the opportunity now.

A few minutes later, they were on their way to a bar off the strip.

--

"Look at the lovebirds." Nick said with laugh as Greg climbed into Sara's car.

Catherine put her SUV into reverse, eyeing the two younger CSIs for only a moment, "What they do is up to them. I can't believe they're dating."

"Word has it that David caught them in an intimate moment at the crime scene." Nick said slowly, fastening his seat belt, "Wonder how they're going to include that in their report?"

Catherine shrugged, adjusting the radio, "If they're smart, they won't. Grissom would have a fit if he found out they were fooling around at a crime scene, he probably would even be upset if he found out they were dating. Talk about compromising evidence."

"How could this be going on without any of us noticing?" Nick asked, "I mean, Greg's got a big mouth, how did he not let this slip?"

"Don't know, Nick, don't know."

"They're sure going to have a lot of explaining to do when this gets back to Gris." Nick said worriedly, concerned about Sara, who seemed to be attracting trouble lately.

Catherine raised an eyebrow, "I'm not worried about Grissom, he's never one to pay attention to gossip. Ecklie, on the other hand..."

"Ouch." Nick hissed, picturing that confrontation in his mind, "I sure hope they know what they're getting in to."

_TBC..._


	3. Mornings

_Author's Notes: Here's chapter Three...a bit of a cliffy at the end. I call it "review insurance". Lol. Please let me know if you're still reading! _

_Jenny_

**Chapter 3:**

Greg's eyes fluttered open, quickly closing again as bright light attacked his tired eyes. He tried again, blinking open his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the sunlight streaming in through the window to the left of his bed.

He started to panic the moment he realized he didn't have a window left of his bed. Was it possible that in a drunken stupor he had somehow managed to create a hole in his wall? His lanlord was going to be pissed! As his mind slowly began to focus, he remembered that he had neighbors to the left of his bedroom wall. Newlywed neighbors who kept him up constantly with their active sex life. In order for light to be streaming in, the entire building must have been damaged. Even during his worst drunken experiences, he had never demolished an entire apartment complex.

His second conclusion was just as ludicrous as the first...there was no way he could have rearranged all of his furniture in the intoxicated state he was in.

That left only one option.

Cautiously, he turned his head to his side, relieved to see the bed was empty, even though this was definitely not his bedroom. Maybe he could just slip on some clothes (looking under the covers, it was clear that he was indeed completely naked) and escape before whoever he had come home with noticed.

He was silently seething as he realized that Sara must have either allowed him to go home with some girl he met at a bar, or abandoned him after getting him drunk, allowing him to possibly sleep with some hideous woman. Looking at the condom wrapper next to the bed, the "possibly" part was now excluded.

As he slowly made his way to the door, his head swimming with the ferocity of his hangover, he heard the sounds of water running. He quietly searched for his shoes, finding one underneath the bed, the other on top of the dresser. He hurriedly got dressed, groaning as he heard the water shut off.

Slowly opening the door, he peeked through the crack to see if anyone was in the hallway. Seeing that the coast was clear, he darted into the hall, one trembling hand on the wall, the other on his throbbing head. He paused as the bathroom door opened, and held his breath, expecting the worst.

What he didn't expect was to see a very familiar brunette emerge from the bathroom, clad only in a pair of block shorts and a white tank top, her hair haphazardly wrapped up in a bright pink towel.

"Sara?" Greg stammered, his face flushed as he stared at the floor.

Sara's only cheeks burned crimson as she stared at the wall behind him, "Greg."

"Last night--"

"Look, we were both--"

Greg crossed his arms, tapping his foot lightly on the dark wooden floors, "We were both really drunk."

"I don't think anything happened." Sara mumbled, still fixated on the wall, "I mean, it couldn't have..."

Greg nodded, refusing to meet her gaze as he thought of the condom wrapper beside her bed. Taking a step back, he managed a small smile, "I forgot my wallet in your room...I'll be right back."

He turned and fled into her bedroom, shoving the condom wrapper into his pocket and taking a deep breath, trying to keep calm. If she didn't remember having sex with him, and he didn't remember having sex with her...maybe they could just pretend nothing had happened and still be normal around each other.

He walked into the hall again, stopping when he noticed Sara was still in the hallway. "I should go."

"I can make breakfast, if you're hungry." Sara offered, pulling the towel out of her hair and shaking her hair loose over her shoulders, "I make fantastic omelets."

Greg's face turned an eerie shade of green before he forcefully shook his head, his stomach clenching with the alcohol's revenge, "No, I'm good. I have some stuff to do today, anyway. Thanks though." He took a few steps towards the door, turning to look back at Sara, who was now running a brush through her brown curly locks, "See you tonight."

"See you tonight, Greg." Sara replied, waiting for the door to shut behind him before throwing her brush at the wall with a loud moan.

Stomping into the living room, she flung herself down on the couch, a frown on her face. It was clear that Greg didn't remember what had happened the previous night, although the events were quite clear to her.

"_I should call a cab." Greg slurred, finishing the last of his beer, "You probably should too."_

"_I live just two blocks away." Sara said softly, her hand covering his, "And you've spent nearly this entire week's pay on a bar tab...why don't you crash at my place?"_

_Greg giggled, then grew serious, "Are you asking me to come home with you?"_

"_You sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch." Sara replied, releasing his hand to finish her pina colada, "I insist."_

"_Well, if you insist..." Greg grinned, pulling his wallet out and waving his credit card towards the bartender. _

_The bartender took Greg's card, giving him a quick once-over, "Want me to call you a cab?"_

"_No!" Greg slurred giddily, "I'm going home with her!"_

Sara moaned, covering her face with her hands. It was supposed to be so simple. She was just going to get him in bed before he passed out, crash on the couch, and when they woke up, it would just be another day. If only things were that easy...

A soft knock on the door brought her from her thoughts, and with a knowing smile, she swung it open to reveal a sheepish Greg.

"Your car's at the lab." Sara grinned as Greg shielded his eyes from the sun, "I'll give you a ride.'

Greg followed Sara in, picking up her brush from the floor by the door, "You dropped your hairbrush."

"Thanks." Sara replied, slipping on a pair of flip flops and grabbing her purse, "You look awful, are you okay to drive? I can drop you off at your place."

Greg stifled a yawn, running his fingers through his knotted, messy hair, "I'm fine. How are you not hungover?"

"You're just a rookie." Sara laughed, motioning towards the door, "Let's go, Sanders."

"Stop being so cheery." Greg replied with a scowl, following her downstairs. As they reached the bottom landing, he gave Sara a curious look, "Where's your car?"

Sara bit her lip to hide her smile, "At the bar."

"At the bar?"

"It's only a few blocks, you can make it." Sara replied, grabbing Greg's hand and pulling him behind her, "You honestly don't remember a thing about last night, do you?"

Greg shrugged, smiling despite how horrible he felt, "Well, I lost track of what was going on after the 9th beer."

"Well, then you missed out on a lot." Sara replied simply, slowing down her pace to allow Greg to keep up with her, "At one point, you bought the entire bar a round of tequila."

"Tequila? No wonder I feel like crap." Greg moaned, "Why did you let me do that?"

Sara rolled her eyes, pressing the button for the crosswalk, "You insisted. I tried to warn you, but you got all defensive and loud...you were making a scene."

"Well, I guess I'm never going to _that_ bar again." Greg muttered, kicking a rock that was in his path as they crossed the street.

Sara looked up as she heard squealing tires. She pushed Greg out of the way, barely able to formulate the words, "Look out!"

_TBC_


	4. Punishment

_Author's Notes: Thank you for all of the wonderful replies...I didn't manage to reply back to everyone, but I do appreciate every single comment I've received. _

_YAY! A new CSI tonight! I LOVE Thursdays!_

_Please let me know what you think. Replies faster chapters. _

_Jenny_

**Chapter Four:**

Sara pushed Greg out of the way, sending them both tumbling onto the sidewalk as a car zoomed through the intersection.

"Woah," Greg gasped, shakily standing, while grabbing Sara's hand, "Thanks."

"That stupid idiot!" Sara ranted, barely noticing as Greg pulled her to her feet, "Where did he get his license, out of a Cracker Jack box? What a moron! I swear, people these days just don't know--"

"I know, I know." Greg replied, pulling Sara into an embrace as she began to tremble, "Hey, it's okay. No harm, no foul, right?"

Sara shook her head angrily, tears of frustration pooling in her eyes, "I hate people."

"All people, are just certain ones?" Greg asked lightly, stroking her hair as she began to calm down. "Should I be worried?"

Sara laughed softly, pulling away and wiping her eyes, although no tears had made it to her cheeks, "You, I like. It's just the rest of the world..."

"I'm honored." he teased, glancing back towards the road, "Any more crosswalks on the way to the bar?"

Sara shook her head, a scowl on her face as she glared at the road, despite the fact that the car that had nearly crashed into them was now nowhere to be seen, "We're almost there."

"Come on, then, let's get out of this heat. It's way too early to be this ungodly hot." Greg grumbled, "I think I'm melting."

"Melting?" Sara asked skeptically, "Are you sure you have a degree in Chemistry? And, Einstein, it's almost 3 pm. That's only early by _our_ standards."

"You know what I mean." Greg replied, pulling her behind him as he walked down the sidewalk, "Hurry up, Sara, I am in desperate need of a shower."

"I'll second that." Sara teased, colliding with him as he stopped walking.

Greg turned to face her, a smile on his lips, "I'll get you back for that Sidle..."

"You're not even slightly threatening to me." Sara replied with a smirk as she pulled her keys out of her pocket as they walked the short remaining distance to the car. "Get in."

--

Greg moaned as he sat down at the break room table, a cup of coffee in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Rough night?" Nick asked, putting down the newspaper he was reading to glance over at his friend, "You look like crap."

Greg stifled a yawn, taking a long sip of his warm coffee, "Sara and I went to a bar last night--"

"You and Sara?"

"Yes." Greg replied, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "Anyway, we got wasted and wound up at her place. She had to drive me back to my car, and I just didn't get enough sleep to kick this hangover."

"So, it's true then? About you and Sara?"

Greg shrugged, covering his mouth as he yawned, "I didn't know word had gotten around so fast."

Nick's response was cut off when Catherine, Warrick, and Sara walked in, followed quickly by Grissom. Giving Greg and Sara a hard look, he started to pass out assignment slips.

"Catherine, Warrick--db at Mandalay Bay. Greg--decomp at Lake Mead. Sara--trick roll. Nick, you're with me on a suspicious circs."

Everyone filed out except Greg and Sara, who looked at each other with clueless expressions.

"Why are we being punished?" Greg asked quietly, "What did we do?"

"He can't possibly be mad that we were lost for a few hours. That was potentially a very dangerous situation...he can't be upset over that." Sara replied, "But you're right. He is punishing us."

Greg glanced towards the door, whispering quietly, "So what do we do?"

"My advice," Sara replied, matching his quiet tone, "Is to lay low and let this blow over."

"Can the two of you wait to plan your next rendezvous until after shift is over?" Grissom asked sharply from the doorway, "You've got work to do."

"Rendezvous? Grissom, wait--" Sara protested, but was cut off by a cold glare from Grissom as he turned and walked out of the room.

Greg shook his head angrily, "Who is he to tell us we can't have drinks together after work? It's not like we slept together or anything!"

Sara guiltily shook her head, remember all too well that they did sleep together the previous night, and tried to sound as appalled as Greg did, "How does he even know about that? How did the rumor mill get initiated this time?"

"I have no idea." Greg replied with a heavy sigh, "I guess I'll catch you later."

Sara looked to the doorway, where Grissom had stood moments earlier, "Actually...it may not be a bad idea to stay away from me for awhile, until we get this mess straightened out...unless, of course, you like working decomps."

Greg shuddered, making a face as he emptied his coffee into the sink, "Good point. I'll call you, how about that?"

"Sounds great." Sara replied with a half-smile as she grabbed her assignment slip and headed towards her car.

She started the engine, a frown on her face as she wondered where Grissom had found out she and Greg had gone home together. Greg _had_ announced it to the entire bar, but she was fairly certain no one they worked with was in the bar at that time.

It was still quite possible that Grissom had been referring to their incident in the desert, and their guilty conscience had jumped ahead and set the stage for their bar escapades to become public knowledge. Grissom had never indirectly said that they were dating, and everyone already knew about them getting lost in the desert, so it was quite possible that they were just being punished for their stupidity.

Shaking her head, she tried to forget about the entire situation as she started her drive to the MGM Grand for her case. Still fighting fatigue from the last couple of days, she stifled a yawn, feeling in her bones that this would be a long night.

--

Greg walked into the A/V lab, looking for Archie. The room was quiet, the only sound coming from the steady clicking of the keyboard as Sara leaned back, trying to stay awake long enough to finish screening her surveillance footage. Placing the shopping bag he had been carrying quietly on the table, he slowly backed out of the room, not wanting to be seen with Sara after the incident earlier with Grissom.

"He's still out with Nick, Greg, it's okay." Sara said softly, never breaking her eye-contact with the video screen. "Returning some video games?"

Greg chuckled softly, sitting down on a chair and rolling closer to Sara, "How did you know it was me?"

"You smell like rotting flesh, it wasn't hard to guess."

Greg watched as Sara stretched, her navy shirt rising slightly to expose her stomach. He couldn't help but stare, embarrassed as she tugged her shirt back down, looking at him sharply.

"Stop undressing me with your eyes."

"I wasn't--" Greg began, then gave up with a sigh, "How did you know about the video games?"

Sara shrugged, turning back to the video, "I just knew."

Of course, she did fail to mention that Archie had warned her Greg would be coming by with some games they had exchanged. Greg didn't need to know how she got her information, he just needed to know that she knew 'everything'.

"So..." Greg started, suddenly nervous as he stared intently at the brunette, "Ready for a coffee break?"

Sara's eyes lit up and she pushed her chair back, "Are we going somewhere to get it, or drinking the filth they have in the pot?"

"Let me go change, and we'll go the deli...I'm starving." Greg relied, standing and sliding Archie's chair back towards the desk, "Meet you in the locker room in 15?"

Sara rolled her eyes, watching as Greg disappeared from the room. Turning back to her video screen, she tapped her pen against the table, stifling a yawn. Coffee and a snack did sound good, and it wasn't often that they took their rightful break mid-shift. She recorded the time showing on the video, ejecting the tape and sliding it back into the evidence bag. Standard procedure would be for her to log it into the evidence room once again, and check it out after returning, but seeing as how it was a slow night, and no one else was in the AV lab, she left a note for Archie saying she'd be back soon and left it sitting on the counter.

She shook her head as she rounded the corner to the locker room, only Greg--or perhaps maybe Grissom--would suggest a meal after processing a decomp all night. Making sure no nosy coworkers were around, she slid into the locker room, spinning the dial on her lock to get her purse.

"Ready to go?" Greg asked, slamming his own locker door shut, "I'll drive."

They walked out of the locker room, not noticing Catherine and Warrick, who were standing at the other end of the hallway, talking quietly to each other.

Catherine nudged Warrick, motioning to Sara and Greg, "They're leaving together."

"That doesn't mean anything. That would be like us walking outside together, they're friends, just like we are."

"How often do you see Sara Sidle leave in the middle of shift with someone? A guy?" Catherine asked, crossing her arms, "They've already admitted they're dating. You heard it just as well as I did."

Warrick sighed, reluctantly nodding, "The conversation I heard certain did imply some sort of relationship. And they do seem awfully close. Grissom's going to have a fit."

"Oh yeah," Catherine replied, "Decomps and Trick Rolls will be the least of their concerns once Grissom really starts to think about this. Talk about compromising a case--"

"What's this I hear of compromising a case?" Ecklie asked from behind Catherine, causing her to jump, turning to Ecklie with a guilty smile on her face.

Catherine shrugged, replying cooly, "Just hypothetical. No reason to worry."

"Don't you and CSI Brown have some work to be doing?" Ecklie replied sharply, his eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out what Catherine and Warrick had been talking about.

Catherine and Warrick both nodded, escaping down the hall, leaving Ecklie to wonder what was going on in his lab. Shaking his head with a determination, he silently vowed to get to the bottom of this.

_TBC_


	5. Pushing

_Author's Notes: Hello! Hope you're all having a good weekend. Thanks to Emmithar for making this chapter happen, and keeping me on the right path when I tended to confuse not only her, but myself as well. You're awesome and funny! _

_Please let me know what you think! Replies make faster chapters...and they made me happy...and when I'm happy, Greg and Sara are happy..._

_Jenny_

**Chapter Five:**

"Sidle, my office, now!" Grissom snapped as Sara walked out of the locker room. She glanced at the clock with a groan, the hour long break she was taking with Greg had turned into nearly two hours, and by the look in Grissom's face, he had definitely noticed the difference.

Nervously walked into Grissom's office Sara took a seat, strumming her fingers anxiously as Grissom slowly sat down at his desk. "I've worked with you for a long time. I've known you even longer. Never, once, did I imagine you to be so irresponsible."

"Are you talking about me taking a lunch break?" Sara asked guiltily, "Because about that--"

"This is more serious than when you take a break, Sara." Grissom replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't know how everyone found out about you and Greg, frankly it's none of my business, but I don't think it's something you should have kept from me."

Sara groaned, raising her hand to her forehead, "It's in my report, I had to make a note of it so the defense attorney wouldn't discredit Greg and I if he found out..."

"You are going to put this in your field notes--" Grissom replied, "Hopefully the jury will still buy into your credibility. That doesn't change the fact that I'm upset that the two of you were hiding this from me.."

"What's there to hide? It just happened." Sara questioned, her head starting to throb. Who would have thought getting stranded in the desert for a few hours would get everyone so worked up? She sighed, "Hasn't it ever happened to you?"

"Never!" Grissom replied, aghast.

Sara felt a small smirk tugging on the corner of her lips as she crossed her arms, staring at him intently, "Come on, never? I find that hard to believe."

"This conversation is getting completely inappropriate, Sara." He tapped his pencil against his desk, shaking his head, "From now on, you and Greg are not allowed on any cases together. No fraternizing in the halls. I want you to be complete strangers while on the clock."

Sara's smirk slowly faded as she stared at her boss with wide eyes, "That's really unfair."

"I need to protect the integrity of this lab, Sara. I can't have my CSIs going off and compromising every case because of things that "just happen". That's my decision, and being upset won't change it."

"Just because of one incident? You can't expect us to completely disassociate from each other. That's ludicrous." Sara fumed angrily, "You always act like you're above us, and it's really getting old." she spat out, rising to her feet, "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."

Before waiting for a response, she stormed out of the office, only pausing to give him one lethal glare. She hadn't made it far down the hall before she nearly trampled Greg.

"Woah, where's the fire?" Greg asked, grabbing her arm and causing her to stop, "What's wrong?"

Sara shook her head, her cheeks flushed red with anger, "Go ask your boss. We aren't allowed to talk to each other anymore. I guess if you need something from me, you can always try smoke signals or secret code. Or, how about leaving me a note in my locker? That worked in sixth grade. Actually, he'd probably search my locker hourly to make sure we're not conspiring against him or something. He's probably even going to take text messaging off of our company cell phones. For the good of the lab, of course. Maybe you'll just have to dress in disguise when we need to talk."

"What--"

"Not allowed to talk to you. Honestly, I've just spent the last 30 seconds breaking the latest lab policy, I should go before I get suspended

." Sara interrupted, pushing past him and storming angrily into the locker room.

Greg looked from the direction Sara had fled back towards Grissom's office, shaking his head with a wry smile. There was probably just some sort of misunderstanding. He started to walk away, when Grissom called out, "Greg, could you come here for a moment?"

--

Greg slid into the break room a few moments late, not surprised to see that the only spot available to sit was on the complete opposite wall from where Sara was seated.

"Nice of you to join us, Greg." Grissom said cooly, glancing at his watch, "I thought I told each of you to be here at 7 am sharp."

"I was finishing up with Doc Robbins on my decomp--I was held up by our meeting." Greg snapped, shrinking back a bit as Grissom sharply glared at him.

Grissom opened his folder, looking at his five employees. He motioned towards Catherine, "How's your case coming?"

"Warrick and I are waiting on Trace to give us some feedback on some red fibers we found at the scene. Everything's pointing to the husband, though."

"Good, keep me up to date." He turned to look at Nick, who was doodling on the edge of his notepad, "Nicky, anything new in our case?"

Nick shook his head, "DNA and Tox are backed up right now, I'm still in the dark. Brass should be getting together some witnesses for interviews later this afternoon."

"Okay, Sara? I've got your progress reports for the trick roll. What about your db from the desert?" Grissom asked, still visibly unhappy with the brunette.

Sara's eyes narrowed as she stared at Grissom for a few moments, before turning to Nick and asking sweetly, "Nick, could you please ask Greg if he's gotten the DNA results back from Wendy yet?"

"Um, okay." Nick replied uncertainly, looking over at Greg, "Greg? Did you get the DNA results?"

Greg shook his head, opening his folder, "They were inconclusive. We'll have to fall back on the dental records." He paused, looking to Nick with a smile, "Could you tell Sara that I'm still waiting on Tox to come back, as well. Oh! And ask her what she found out from Hodges about the glass Doc Robbins found in the victim's eye?"

"What's going on?" Catherine interrupted, glancing from Greg to Sara, "Aren't you being a bit childish?"

Greg nodded in Grissom's direction, "Hey, I'm just following boss's orders."

"What? You haven't been banned from talking to your partners as well?" Sara asked with wide-eyed innocence, looking from a smirking Greg, to a confused Catherine, to a fuming Grissom. "Oh, I guess that only applies to crazy Sidle and irresponsible Sanders."

"Sara, Greg, you two will be waiting for me in my office in exactly five minutes. Step outside and cool off. The rest of you, good work, keep me abreast of your progress. I expect to see status reports on my desk by the time shift begins tomorrow night. Wrap up what you're working on and call it a night." He looked from Greg to Sara before lowly stating, "Outside, now."

"Sure thing, Dad." Sara muttered as she hastily gathered her paperwork and brushed past him, "Come on Greg," she said loudly, "Let's go get some fresh air."

Greg watched as Grissom's face grew hard with anger, although Sara didn't bother to look. With a weak smile to the rest of the group, he grabbed his folder and coffee cup, allowing Sara to practically pull him down the hallway.

"This is against the rules." Greg muttered softly as the cool air hit their faces.

Sara glanced down at her watch, shrugging slightly, "Actually, our shift ended two minutes ago. If we wanted to, we could just leave right now."

"So we can make him mad and be called back out right after we've gone to sleep?" Greg shook his head, glancing apprehensively towards the building, "I'd rather not."

Sara nodded, shivering slightly, "Don't want to make him any more angry than he already is. I don't understand what his problem is. We made one little mistake, it's not like we're breaking some huge departmental code."

"What do you think he would have done to us if it would have been more serious?" Greg asked nervously, "I mean, if we were out there for days or something, would he have suspended us, or fired us?"

Sara shook her head, "No, we were only gone long enough to look stupid. If it had been days, he would be worried, not angry."

"Well, let's make sure that next time we _really_ screw up," Greg huffed, kicking a rock off the sidewalk, "If one of us ends up dead, maybe then he'll ease up on us."

"Yeah, right, like we'll ever work a scene together again." Sara scoffed, glancing at her watch, "Time to face the music."

--

"I'm just saying to go easy on them, Gil," Catherine said quietly from Grissom's door way, "You can't chose who you fall in love with."

Grissom shook his head, "But you can chose how you'll handle the relationship. They are completely out of line."

"So they didn't make their relationship public, honestly Gil, you can't punish them forever for making one mistake." Catherine replied thoughtfully, "Maybe they didn't tell you because they knew you'd behave irrationally."

She turned and walked down the hallway, stopping briefly to stay goodbye to Sara and Greg, who looked like they were about to face the firing squad. She hated that she hadn't been able to plead their case more effectively, but she had endured Grissom's wrath before, and she definitely wasn't going to willingly subject herself to it. Giving them a quiet "Good Luck", she made her way out of the building, leaving only the two of them in the hallway.

"There's still a chance to just leave." Sara offered with a shrug, "We can go grab a drink or something."

Greg turned to her with a frown, relaxing when he saw she was trying to hold back laughter.

"Chill Greg, I'm not going to let you torture yourself again like you did last night. Don't worry. Ready to go?"

"Ladies first." Greg replied, opening the door while ignoring Sara's scowl.

Greg shut the door, taking a seat beside Sara as they waited for Grissom to tear into them.

"Would either of you like to give me a reason why I shouldn't suspend both of you right now?" Grissom asked in a level voice, leaning forward slightly as both remained silent, "What? You obviously didn't have a problem holding your tongue earlier, why the sudden shyness? Is it different without an audience?"

Sara and Greg looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. They were in serious trouble now.

_TBC_


	6. Surprise!

_Author's Notes: This chapter is a lot shorter than I intended it to be, but the next one should be a doozie. Lol...I'm writing from work, so I could only do what I had time to accomplish on a lunch break. I am loving the comments I'm receiving, and I hope to continue to get feedback. No one's looked at the chapter besides me, so all mistakes are mine._

_I should have an update within the next few days, I'm officially on Spring Break. YAY! No school until April 24th...then only two short weeks until I'm out for the summer. Life is great._

_Happy reading!_

_Jenny_

**Chapter Six: **

Sara looked up as footsteps entered the locker room, surprised to see Greg standing in the doorway.

"Headed home?" She asked tiredly, barely able to summon enough energy to tie her shoelaces, "How was your case?"

Greg remained silent as he walked to his locker, spinning the dial. After a few moments, he spoke softly, "Sometimes I wonder how people can be so cruel to their own children. If I had a son or a daughter, I don't think I'd ever be able to murder them in cold blood."

"Me either." Sara replied, "Want to talk?"

Greg shook his head, grabbing a jacket and his wallet before slamming his locker shut, "No, I'm going home."

"Call me if you need anything."

"Sure."

Seconds later, he was gone. Sara sighed, staring at the doorway, wishing he would come back. For the last month, since Grissom banned them from working together, their relationship had been very strained. This was probably the closest they had come to actually talking in awhile.

Tiredly standing, she slid on her own jacket and sunglasses, stumbling through exhaustion to the doorway, wishing it wouldn't be frowned upon for her to lie down in the break room to catch a nap before heading home.

Ignoring Nick and Warrick as she made her way to the door, she felt a stab of regret. She hadn't been really fair to anyone over the last few weeks, taking her anger on Grissom out by blatantly ignoring the rest of the team. She could tell they were uncomfortable, but she found herself unable to control the impulse to show Grissom what a huge mistake he had made.

While her silence was making things tense between herself and her two male friends, it was just adding fuel to the silent battle of wills she held with Grissom. The longer she only did what was asked of her, the more frustrated he became. His frustration, however, was only a drop in the bucket compared to the frustration she felt about being punished for an honest mistake.

Sitting in her car, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, trying to push the tension and sleepiness away so she could make it home safely. Once home, if she had to fall apart, it would be okay. Taking a deep breath, she turned the key, only to find that her car wouldn't start. Slamming her hand against the steering wheel, she tried once more, cursing loudly when nothing happened. With a frown, she noticed that she had left her lights on, so now her battery was dead.

She threw open the door, furious at herself for being so irresponsible. With a loud groan, she started back towards the building, sauntering into the break room and taking a seat across from Nick, who only raised an eyebrow as she made contact with him.

"I need a favor."

"You do?" Nick asked, his voice full of sarcasm, "From me?"

"Do you have jumper cables?"

Nick started to ignore her, all too willing to dish back what she had dealt the entire team for the last month, but found himself unable to do so as he took in her worn appearance. With a nod, he stood, fishing in his pocket for his keys, "Parked in your usual spot?"

"Yeah." Sara replied sheepishly, "Thanks."

"No problem." Nick said, glancing in her direction before walking out of the room, "I'm parked on the other side of the building, so I'll drive around to meet you."

"Which means...you got the promotion?" Sara asked, her eyes growing wide. "Only us little peons are forced to park on the side closest to the street."

Nick shrugged, neglecting to answer as he walked through the side door. Sara walked down the hallway to the front exit, frowning as she slowly walked to her own car. It didn't surprise her...the best way to be overlooked for a promotion is to be at odds with your boss. She already knew that. It still hurt, though, that she was overlooked a second time, and no one had even bothered to tell her that a decision had been made. Of course, she hadn't really been on speaking terms with any of her coworkers lately, so it was likely that everyone knew except her.

A few seconds later, Nick pulled up beside her, popping his hood and walking towards the trunk to get his jumper cables. Sara pulled the tab for her own hood as well, stepping out of the car to help.

"I've got it." Nick said as she approached the front of the car, "Go try to crank it up."

Silently, she climbed back into the driver's seat and waited for his command to turn the key. There was a time, not too long ago, where they would have been making jokes and visiting with each other the entire time they were doing this, but now they had been reduced to silence with only necessary cordial comments. A tear fell onto her cheek, and she tiredly brushed it away. Her emotions were bubbling to the surface, and she was having the hardest time controlling them. Sighing heavily, she followed his instructions to turn the key, grateful when it started right up.

A few seconds later, both had murmured goodbyes and Sara was on her way home. Glancing at the time on the dashboard, she reasoned that it would be too late to stop somewhere and eat, and since there was no food in her pantry, she would have to grab fast food somewhere. With a tired whimper, she made the decision to just go home and get something when she woke up. It wasn't too often that she finished a single shift exhausted, but this morning, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide from the world.

--

"Come on, pick up." Greg groaned, letting the phone ring for the tenth time, "I know you're there."

Sighing, he slammed his phone shut, kicking the tire of his car angrily. He had barely slept, his dreams plagued with visions of the brutally beaten child he had investigated the night before. After fighting for several hours to get some decent rest, he had given up and decided to go see the one person he knew could sympathize.

If only she'd answer her phone.

He dialed her number again, sighing heavily when she hadn't picked up after the first few rings. Shaking his head, he decided to just go over, in case she was screening her calls. Dialing her cell phone, he left a voice mail, "Sara, it's Greg. I'm on my way over, we need to talk."

Things had been so tense between the two of them lately, he wasn't surprised that she wasn't picking up. He had barely spoken to her at work earlier, and it had been over a week since he had called her at home. Things had been very different at work lately, and he knew he was partly to blame.

He, like Sara, had been pulling away from his other coworkers, hating that it was acceptable to visit with all of them except the one he really wanted to be around. He missed working with Sara on cases, he missed picking up random tidbits of knowledge. Sure, it was great working with Nick or Warrick, even Catherine sometimes, but they weren't the same as the person he had come to see as a mentor.

With a sad sigh, he started his car. Something had to give, they couldn't all coexist like this forever. Maybe while he was at Sara's, they'd be able to come up with something to explain Grissom's strange behavior, and possibly even a way to rebuild their relationship.

He arrived at her apartment 15 minutes later, relieved to see her car parked in the parking lot. Shutting his engine off, he dialed her number again, shaking his head when no one answered. He opened his glove box, fishing around until he found the house key she had given him in case of an emergency. The longer he thought about it, the more he decided they needed to talk. She was too important of a friend to be lost over something so stupid.

Greg knocked on the door twice, getting no response, and nervously stuck the key into the lock. He had never actually used his emergency key, and this wasn't an emergency, but apparently it would be the only way for the two of them to talk, and he was sure that if he had to sit around by himself all day, he'd go insane.

Pushing open the door, he called out, "Sara? It's Greg! Are you here?"

He found her a few moments later sitting on her bathroom floor, sobbing as she threw up. Her brown hair was messily pulled into a ponytail, and she wore a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, both wet with tears. She let out of tiny yelp of surprise as he pushed the door open, but was cut off as another wave of nausea passed through her, sending her back to the toilet with a fresh batch of tears.

"What are you doing here?" She asked a few moments later, after slightly regaining her composure.

Greg walked towards her, handing her a wet washcloth, "I needed to see you. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Sara shook her head, starting to sob again. She resisted slightly when Greg tried to help her up, but gave in, too tired to protest. The moment she stood up, something fell from her lap, causing her to cringe and him to gasp. Stunned, Greg stared at the floor, mesmerized by the thin, white plastic stick with a large pink plus sign in the middle.

"Oh my God, Sara. You're pregnant."

Sara nodded, tears streaming down her pale face as she refused to meet his eyes.

"Who's the father?" Greg demanded, "How far along are you?"

Looking away, Sara whispered, "About a month..."

_TBC_


	7. Acceptance

_Author's Notes: Well, I promised several people a chapter soon, so this is me making good on my word. Beta reader didn't get to read this, and I ended it a bit sooner than I wanted to, but for good reason. Lol. You'll see. Hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!_

_Jenny_

**Chapter Seven:**

Greg waited in the living room while Sara brushed her teeth and changed, nervously strumming his fingers against the arm of her sofa. Pregnant. Sara. It just seemed so unreal. With a nervous sigh, he closed his eyes, his mind traveling back to the night that he had Sara had gone out for drinks.

It couldn't be his. They had used a condom, he found the wrapper, he threw it away in the comfort of his own apartment. There was no way this could be his baby. Groaning, he opened his eyes and sighed. Of course it could be his. Condoms weren't always effective, and he had no way of knowing if they had done anything after that condom had been used. Memories of random bits and pieces of that night had resurfaced, but nothing clear enough to tell him what actually happened in his drunken stupor.

He looked up as Sara timidly entered the living room, her bloodshot eyes really standing out against her pale face. She had changed into a pair of black drawstring pants and a white t-shirt, and her hair now was let down around her shoulders. Tucking her leg beneath her, she sat beside Greg on the sofa, her other foot tapping the floor nervously.

"I'm sorry about that." She stammered quietly, pushing her hair behind her ears, "That was really embarrassing."

Greg shrugged, "Happens to everyone, you want to talk about this pregnancy thing?"

"Not really, but I sort of have to." Sara blushed, staring at the floor, "I've been lying to you."

"What?" Greg asked, reaching out to touch her hand, "What are you talking about? We haven't even been speaking to each other."

Sara shook her head, "No, you don't understand." She sighed heavily, letting her gaze travel to his concerned face for a few moments before looking back at the floor, "That night...the night you...spent the night?"

"Yeah?"

"I told you that nothing happened between us. I lied." She paused, trying to gauge his reaction before finishing quickly, "I saw you were really freaked out by the whole thing, I didn't want to make things weird between us. I figured that if you didn't remember, then it wouldn't hurt anything."

Letting her hand drop to her stomach, she finally stared into his eyes, "I was wrong."

"Are you saying that this baby is mine?" Greg asked, "We used a condom--"

"You knew?" Sara asked, her eyes wide, "All along?"

"I found the condom wrapper when I woke up in your bed...I guess I didn't want to make things strange between the two of us either." Greg replied with a wry smile, "I guess we had the same idea."

Sara nodded, rubbing her stomach nervously, "We used a condom the first time...the second time we weren't so careful."

"We had sex twice?"

Sara cleared her throat, murmuring "three" before switching positions to have her other leg beneath her.

"Wow, I'm impressed." Greg replied distractedly, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Sara was pretty much telling him that he was going to be a Dad. "Are you sure it's mine?"

Sara nodded, biting her lip to try and control the onslaught of tears that threatened to break through the invisible barrier she had always hidden behind. After taking a few deep breaths, she whispered, "It's been a long, long time since there's been anyone else."

"You know," Greg replied with a dry laugh, "Grissom's really going to have a fit about this, after his whole separation thing."

"What's up with that?" Sara asked, shaking her head, "I mean, there's no way he is still pissed that we got lost for a few hours. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Greg shrugged, "I thought for awhile that maybe he found out we went out together and I came home with you...sort of punishing us for a non-existent relationship."

"I thought about that too." Sara agreed, "But how would he know?"

Both fell silent for a few moments, before Greg asked softly, "So what are we going to do about this?"

"What do you mean? I'm going to have a baby. You can do whatever you want." Sara snapped, her mood rapidly deteriorating, "I didn't tell you because I want you to help me. I told you because you have a right to know."

Greg's eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously, "That's not what I meant. Of course I'm going to be here for you and the baby. I'm just surprised...very surprised. But things are going to change, I mean, we're going to have a baby together. We have to have some sort of plan."

"I don't know yet." Sara said quietly, relaxing a bit, "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon, you're welcome to come if you want to. 3:00."

Greg nodded, "I'll be there."

Sara's face paled once more and she hopped off of the couch, darting back towards the bathroom. Greg remained on the couch, torn between going to check on her and giving her the space she probably needed. He was saved from making a decision when she came back into the living room, her cheeks pink.

"False alarm."

"Do you need me to get you anything? Is there anything I can do to help you? I mean...I want you to be as comfortable as possible." Greg asked, studying her closely, "Not just now, or during work...if you need something during the day, when you're alone, just pick up the phone. This is my responsibility too, and I'm willing to help--I want to help."

Sara blushed again, squeezing his hand tightly, "Greg, I'm not dying. I'll be fine." She laughed quietly, "But I promise, anything I need I'll let you know. You're really a great guy. I know I don't tell you that enough, but you're one of the few really good guys out there."

"Thanks." Greg replied softly, "You're going to need to tell Grissom about this."

Sara nodded, "I plan on it. Probably tonight. It's not going to affect my work for awhile, but I've never checked into a maternity leave policy or anything, I never really thought I'd have to...and I'm not the biggest expert on babies and pregnancy, but I want to make sure I'm not doing anything or being exposed to anything that may harm him or her."

Greg nodded, moving closer to her so he could give her a hug, "Want me to go with you?"

"I think it's something I have to do on my own...but thank you." Sara replied, melting into his embrace and sighing heavily, "Thank you for not freaking out."

Greg remained silent, surprised that his heart wasn't beating out of his chest. Inside, he was plenty freaked out, but he hadn't wanted to scare off, or anger, the brunette. He could sense how emotional she was, and he definitely didn't want to be the cause of her tears. Holding her close, he tried to breathe deeply. Things happened, sometimes surprising and unexpected things, but it was something that couldn't be changed. The best he could do was remain positive and supportive, and hope for the best.

His Mom was going to have a heart attack.

--

Sara stood in the doorway of her Grissom's office, her hands shaking as she tried to come up with the right words to explain her situation. She was failing miserably at the task, and after a few moments of hesitation, she knocked gently on the door. When he looked up from the computer screen, she gave him a nervous smile.

"Grissom, we need to talk." Sara said quietly.

Grissom nodded, looking up with raised eyebrows she when she shut the door behind her. "Should I be worried?"

"That depends." Sara replied quietly, taking a step towards her boss, her voice trembling slightly, "Gris, I'm pregnant."

"You're what!" Grissom asked, sounding both surprised and concerned, "How far along are you?"

Sara sank into the chair across from Grissom's desk, tapping the pen she was holding against the wooden arm, "About a month. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of it...for work purposes, of course."

"I'm assuming Greg is the father?"

Sara's eyes flew to Grissom's, "What on Earth would lead you to that assumption?"

"You two are dating, aren't you?"

_TBC_


	8. Sharing

_Author's Notes: Please leave me a review! I love them!_

_Happy Easter!_

_Jenny_

Chapter Eight:

"_What!_"

All conversation in the hallway ceased as Sara's yell echoed down the hallway. With a concerned glance towards Grissom's office, Greg jumped up, halfway to the door before anyone else had a chance to catch up.

"I can't believe you'd believe a rumor circulating around the lab and use that to penalize us for no reason!" Sara fumed, angrily pacing Grissom's office, "Without even bothering to verify it!"

"I tried to talk to you about it, and you implied that I was correct." Grissom replied, rubbing his forehead as he tried to ward off an impending headache, "How was I supposed to know that we were talking about two separate things?"

Sara threw her hands into the air angrily, spitting out, "How about asking me straightforward, instead of in riddles? How about asking Greg? How about giving us a chance to explain our side of the story before going off half cocked and making crazy rules and regulations for us to follow?"

"I honestly thought you two were dating, I--"

Sara shook her head forcefully, "And the whole time, we thought you were making a big deal about us being lost for a few hours. We thought everyone was talking about that. We had no earthly idea that you guys thought we were dating."

"Dating?" Greg's voice came from the doorway, "We aren't dating."

"I'm aware of that now." Grissom replied dryly, massaging his temples, "Can I help you, Greg?"

Greg motioned over his shoulders, "Yell a little louder, they can't hear you outside yet."

"Shut up, Sanders." Sara spat out, her hands shaking as she continued to pace Grissom's office, "I can not believe you had the audacity to--"

"There's nothing we can do to change the past, Sara." Grissom said calmly, "And I don't believe that this is the situation that you came in here to discuss."

Greg looked from Sara to Grissom, then back to Sara, "So you told him about our baby?"

"Our?" Grissom choked, "Sara, I thought you said that you two weren't a couple?"

Sara shook her head, "We aren't. But, yes, this is Greg's baby."

"You're pregnant?" Catherine gasped from the hallway, where she, Warrick, and Nick had followed Greg.

Sara groaned, sinking down into Grissom's chair and lowering her head into her hands, "I'm so confused."

"That makes two of us." Grissom agreed, "Catherine? Warrick? Nick? Don't you have some work to do?"

"Actually," Catherine began, "You haven't passed out assignment sheets yet, so..."

Grissom thrust several sheets of paper in Catherine's direction, "You three get started. Sara, Greg, and I will join you in a few moments."

"This is very confusing." Grissom said after a brief silence, "Although I'm glad this was all about to come out in the open. Miscommunication this serious can be very damaging to our team as a whole."

"If this is a 'for the good of the lab' speech...I can't stomach one of those right now." Sara mumbled, shaking her head, "Greg and I have done nothing wrong."

"Is there anything else that needs to be disclosed at this point? Any other misunderstandings that may need to be cleared?"

"That depends, have you made any assumptions about us besides these?" Sara snapped, her cheeks flushing as she realized how sarcastic her tone had sounded, "Sorry..."

Grissom shook his head, "I believe this is our only problem. Sara, of course some changes will have to be made as your pregnancy progresses, but for now I feel like you can set the pace."

"Okay." Sara replied, unsure of exactly what he was telling her.

Grissom tapped his pencil against his desk, "You know what you can handle, even if you don't always listen to yourself. If you feel up to working in the field, we'll keep you out there until either you or your doctor thinks it's a bad idea. If you don't feel up to it, there's plenty of work that can be done around here."

"Well, I want to work in the field."

"Is that safe?" Greg asked hurriedly, before Grissom could agree, "I mean, what if you get shot, or stabbed, or kidnaped even?"

Sara raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that's going to be a problem."

"It's happened before." Greg interjected, his voice raising slightly, "Not to you, but it's happened. I don't think it's a good idea."

Sara rolled her eyes, "I can't sit in the lab for the next eight months, Greg."

"Sure you can!" Greg replied, wincing as she shot him an icy glare. "Okay, then at least let us be paired up together, that way I can keep an eye on her."

"I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me!"

"The last time you didn't need someone to keep an eye on you, we got lost in the desert!"

Grissom sighed, "That's enough, both of you. You two can work together, but only if you can manage to get along. I agree with Greg, you should have someone working with you, in case you need a break. Greg, you in turn have to remember that Sara's been working in the field a lot longer than you have, so don't give her any trouble."

"Wait a minute, when you assumed we were in a relationship, you forbid us to speak to each other." Sara said, raising an eyebrow towards Grissom, "And now that we're having a baby together, it's okay?"

"That was different." Greg interrupted, before Grissom could rethink his offer,

"Stop being difficult and let's get out of his way. I'm sure he's busy."

"_He_ is still here, and if you two can't hold a civil conversation in here, how can I expect you two to make nice in the field?" Grissom asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "Maybe I should pair Sara with Nick or Warrick--"

"Greg's fine." Sara interrupted, "We'll behave. What do you have for us?"

Grissom stood, handing them a slip of paper, "Homicide at Mandalay Bay, I want an update on it by the end of shift tonight."

Greg and Sara took the slip, walking into the hall side by side. Sara took the slip of paper from Greg's hand, reaching into her pocket for her keys, "I'll drive."

"Are you sure you're not too tired? I don't mind driving." Greg offered, reaching for the paper.

Sara shot him a mean look, shaking her keys a bit so they rattled loudly, "I'll drive. End of story."

"I just think that--"

"I'm driving." Sara insisted, "Meet me in the car once you've dropped the idea that I'm some sort of fragile porcelain doll that you're scared of breaking."

Greg tried to defend himself, but Sara didn't give him a chance before storming off towards the door. He groaned, rubbing his neck tiredly. This was going to be a very long night.

--

"Do you want me to carry that for you?" Greg asked, reaching out to take Sara's field kit, "Is it too heavy?"

"If you ask me that one more time--" Sara warned, switching hands so her kit was farther away from the younger CSI.

Greg held up his hands to surrender, offering her a light chuckle, "I'm just worried about you."

"I know you are." Sara replied, smiling so he could tell she wasn't angry, "But I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"Can I at least open the door for you?" Greg asked as they reached the hotel's entrance. "Or would that be inappropriate?"

Sara rolled her eyes, "That's just polite. Polite is okay."

"But if I offered to tie your undone shoelace, that would be over the line?"

"Totally over the line." Sara replied, glancing down at her shoelace, "How did you notice my shoelace?"

"I notice everything about you." Greg replied with a sheepish grin, blushing as Sara looked towards him in surprise. "Stop staring, we have work to do."

They silently made their way towards the crime scene, waving a half-wave towards Brass, who was standing off to the side, talking to the cleaning crew. Both Sara and Greg flashed their badges at the officer standing guard, and were allowed to slip underneath the crime scene tape. Quietly excusing himself, Brass made his way towards Sara and Greg, a surprised smile on his face.

"I didn't expect to see the two of you here, together." Brass mused quietly, "It's a pretty bad scene. A lot of blood, and at first guess I'd think it was a murder-suicide. First victim is in the bedroom of the suite, face down about a foot from the window. Second is in the bathtub. Housekeeping hasn't been in the room for three days, there was a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorway. Neighbors started to smell something suspicious and called the front desk."

Pulling out her camera, Sara walked to the doorway of the hotel room, quietly absorbing her surroundings. Even from this position, the stench of death was very strong, and she had to force herself not to gag. Taking a steadying breath through her mouth, she made her way into the room, hugging the left wall until reaching the bathroom, taking several dozen photographs along the way. Stopping in the doorway, she motioned for Greg to hug the opposite wall and make his way into the main area of the suite.

Her face paled as she entered the small hotel bathroom, the man lying in the tub already starting to show the first stages of decomposition. Pressing her hand against her mouth, she closed her eyes and took a step backwards. She wasn't going to be able to handle this tonight.

She followed her previous path back to the main entrance, then traced Greg's steps towards his victim. She stopped a few feet away from him, surveying the area he was working in. There was a tremendous amount of blood, but somehow the prospect of working this victim was much less nauseating than her bathtub body.

Clearing her throat, she asked quietly, "Would you switch with me?"

"Don't trust the rookie CSI?" Greg joked, turning around to face her. Upon seeing her pale face and trembling hands, he moved quickly towards her, "My God, Sara, are you okay?"

Sara motioned towards the bathroom, nearly gagging at the memory, "I can't work him. Please, can we switch?"

"Do you feel sick?" Greg asked, concern evident in his voice, "I can handle the inside, if you want to tag along while Brass questions witnesses."

Sara brought her hand to her forehead, sighing deeply, "I can work this one, I'm okay here, it's just the other one...I don't know, I can't."

"Of course I'll trade with you." Greg replied, surprising both by kissing her gently on her forehead. "Yell if you need something."

Greg picked up his kit and made his way back towards the restroom, leaving Sara to hold her hand to her forehead, still able to feel his warm lips against her cool forehead. What surprised her more than the gesture, however, was the tingling sensation that had spread through her entire body when he had done it.

As she began to photograph the body, she smiled, coming to the conclusion that maybe Greg was something special.

_TBC_


	9. Kisses

_Author's Notes: Thanks for everyone who left replies for the last chapter, I really enjoyed them! As an extra special treat, I've got a new chapter out today. Hope to have another out soon. Replies are appreciated...the more I get, the happier I am, the happier Greg and Sara are:-)_

_Jenny_

**Chapter Nine:**

Greg glanced as his watch as he rushed towards the kitchen, a brown paper bag in his hand. He slowed down to normal speed as he got closer to his destination, carefully looking around for any of his coworkers.

Seeing that the coast was clear, he breezed into the room, making a beeline for the coffeepot. Dumping out the remains of day shift's brew, he opened his paper bag, scooping out one scoop of his own blend and emptying it into the filter. Looking over his shoulder, he turned the sink faucet on to fill the plastic insert to 'four cups'. He pressed the start button, leaning back against the counter with a happy sigh.

There was half an hour before shift started, and it looked as if he'd be able to enjoy his coffee alone, for once, before replacing the expensive blend with the watered down motor oil the county provided.

As the machine began to slowly drip out delicious pieces of liquid heaven, he slowly walked towards the hallway, rushing back towards the locker room as he saw no one was around.

He placed the bag in his locker, pulling out a shiny pink gift bag. With a grin, he walked to Sara's locker, opening the lock and placing the bag on top of her change of clothes, where he knew she'd see it. Satisfied on a job well done, he headed back towards the kitchen to check on his coffee.

He had just filled his thermos when Catherine walked in, a smile on her lips, "Smells like your overpriced imported coffee."

Greg held up his thermos with a shrug, "Just ran out, sorry."

"I bet you are." Catherine replied, opening the fridge and placing her sandwich inside, "Have you had a chance to check on our trace results?"

Greg shook his head, "Just got here. It seems pretty dead in here, let's just head for the break room. 20 minutes won't make or break the case."

"You're right." Catherine agreed, following Greg into the hallway. They rounded the corner to the break room, only to find a five-month pregnant Sara asleep at the table, her head resting comfortably in her arms.

"I wonder how long she's been here." Greg whispered worriedly, "She shouldn't be working so hard."

"She's changed from last night, that's a good sign." Catherine replied, turning to Nick and Warrick as they walked in, a finger on her lips to signal they needed to be quiet.

Nick pulled out a chair, sitting across from Sara, watching her slow, even breathing, "She must be exhausted."

"What time did you get out of here this morning?" Catherine asked, mostly to ease the anxious CSI standing next to her.

Nick shrugged, "About an hour after shift ended. Sara and I left at the same time. I wonder how long she's been here?"

"She usually comes by my place to eat before coming in, but she didn't this evening." Greg said worried, his eyes set on the sleeping figure, "I tried calling her about 3 hours ago, but she wasn't home then."

Warrick took a seat beside Nick, quietly trying to calm Greg, who had been openly overprotective for the last 4 months, despite facing the wrath of Sara by the end of nearly every shift. "Grissom's monitoring her time, he'll probably send her home early if she came in early. She knows her limits, Greg."

Greg's sarcastic response was cut off as Grissom walked into the room, several yellow strips of paper in his hand, "Slow night, guys, who feels like working?"

Catherine looked from a still serenely sleeping Sara to Grissom, a frown on her face, "Shh!"

"What?" Grissom asked, finally noticing Sara's sleeping form, "Shouldn't we wake her?"

Catherine shook her head forcefully, "You've never been pregnant, it's hard enough to sleep in the comfort of your own bed. You'll be facing a monster if you wake her now."

"Cath, you and Greg are still working the arson case, right?"

Both nodded, waiting for Grissom to continue. After a pause, he nodded, "Keep working on it. We have two B&E's tonight, Warrick, Nick, you each get one."

"Did you get my report on the Silvas rape?" Nick asked, "Sara was supposed to leave it on your desk this morning."

Grissom nodded, "I had a few questions, but I cleared them up with Sara a bit ago. Good job."

"Thanks." Nick replied, taking the strip of paper from Grissom and disappearing behind Warrick out the door. Greg and Catherine followed a few moments later, leaving only Grissom and Sara in the break room.

Grissom turned to leave, then glanced back at his sleeping employee. There was no way that could be comfortable. He glanced towards the couch, then back at Sara, and decided to make an attempt to move her. Lifting her was not a problem, even as her abdomen began to extend, she was still light as a feather. He carefully maneuvered her to the couch, gently laying her down and using his jacket to cover her.

She moaned a bit, concerning Grissom that he had disturbed her. "Go back to sleep, it's okay." he whispered nervously, unsure of what he would do if she woke up at this point. The move had been uncharacteristic of him, but he hadn't been able to help himself. Being caught at this point would only embarrass him.

She moaned a bit, shifting underneath his jacket, murmuring softly, "Greg..."

"Go back to sleep." Grissom whispered again, his anxiety growing as he heard her speak her coworker's name. There had been no mention of a relationship between the two, but that didn't mean that they were keeping it under wraps because of the chaos the implied relationship had caused a few months earlier.

"Greg," Sara moaned again, grabbing Grissom's arm and pulling him closer to her, "Don't leave me."

"Sara, I--" Grissom fumbled, his heart racing as he bent over her, "Sara, wake up, I'm not--"

Before he could finish his thoughts, her warm lips met his, and he found himself struggling to breathe as the severity of this situation came crashing into his mind. He pulled away with wide eyes, breathing heavily as he tried to pull away from her tight grasp.

Sensing another presence in the room, he turned, only to come face to face with a stunned and angry Greg. With a soft moan, he realized how bad this situation looked, and how easily it could be misinterpreted. He had to do some damage control, and quickly.

"Greg, this isn't how it looks." Grissom said quietly, his normally calm voice showing a bit of nervousness.

Greg swallowed hard, trying to keep the bile down as he stared wide-eyed at his boss. Sure, he and Sara weren't dating, and it wasn't any of his business if she was kissing her boyfriend. But Grissom wasn't her boyfriend. And she was asleep. He felt sick to know that Grissom, the man he had looked up to with the utmost respect for so many years, had just taken advantage of a sleeping woman. _His _sleeping woman.

As hard as Greg tried to keep his temper under control, trying not to disturb Sara, he found himself yelling within moments. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sara's eyes flew open at the sudden noise, and she quickly sat up, her hand flying to her woozy head as she looked between a furious Greg and Grissom, who's normally placid features were now shadowed by worry. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Greg turned to look at Sara, too upset to formulate a sentence, "Do you have any idea of what he just did?"

"Grissom?" Sara asked tiredly, "What?"

Greg's hand shook with anger as he opened his mouth to speak, but Grissom cut him off, "It was a misunderstanding, Greg, it wasn't how it looked."

"What's not?" Sara asked sleepily, swinging her legs off the couch, "How did I get here? The last thing I remember is laying my head down on the table."

"I moved you to the couch, I thought you'd be more comfortable there--" Grissom began.

Greg cut him off, his voice raising, "Or did you think it would just be easier to kiss her if she was on the couch?"

"Kiss?" Sara asked, raising her hand to her lips with wide eyes, "Grissom?"

"It's not what you think!" Grissom said loudly, "I moved Sara to the couch and she grabbed my arm. She thought I was you! She pulled me down to her, I was trying to get away!"

Sara's face flushed red as she diverted her eyes to the floor. She let her fingers graze against her lips once more, then looked at Greg, who's face had turned from anger to shock by his supervisor's words.

"You were dreaming about kissing me?" Greg asked after an uncomfortable silence. "Is that true?"

Sara remained staring at the floor, her cheeks still flushed, "Well...I do remember dreaming that I kissed you..." she glanced briefly at Grissom, then at Greg, "And I highly doubt that Grissom would take advantage of a sleeping woman. Or any woman."

Greg looked down at the floor as well, embarrassed by his outburst, "I guess you're right..."

He looked up at Grissom, who waved his silent apology away with his hand, "I'm going to be in my office. Sara, you obviously need some rest, why don't you have Greg take you home?"

"Me?" Greg asked, looking towards Grissom with surprise. He had been certain that after this outburst he'd be back on Grissom's bad side--decomps and being babysat on cases until someone else came along to anger their supervisor.

Grissom raised an eyebrow, moving away from Sara, "Unless you don't want to?"

"No, no sir. Ready to go, Sar?" Greg asked, moving to Sara and offering his hand to her, "You're a little pale, are you feeling okay?"

Sara smiled, a blush creeping onto her cheeks again, "Just tired. Thanks Gris...and I'm sorry about, well, you know..."

"Hormones." Grissom replied, shaking his head and walking towards the door, "If you're still tired tomorrow, just let me know and you can take some time off."

"Thanks." Sara murmured as Grissom disappeared into the hallway. She leaned her head against Greg's shoulder, yawning sleepily, "You're going to stay with me, right?"

"Wouldn't dream of being anywhere else." Greg replied, his hand resting on her hips, "Got to watch out for my baby girl and her Mommy."

"Lately I'm always at your place or you're always at mine." Sara mused quietly, letting her eyes droop closed as he led her to the locker room, "It's sort of funny..."

"So then why don't we just move in together?"

_TBC_


	10. Mood Swings

_Author's Notes: Wow, I'm on a roll...found some inspiration today in the form of the numerous reviews I got for chapter nine. Told you that response produces faster chapters. Lol. It's even a bit longer than the last few. Shocking, huh? Let me know if you're still reading! _

_Jenny_

**Chapter Ten:**

"Why don't we _what_?" Sara snapped, her eyes widening as she pulled away from a suddenly embarrassed Greg, "Move in together? Are you insane?"

Greg searched for something to validate, or at least justify, his question, but was only able to come up with, "Well, we are having a baby together...and we do spend a lot of time together..."

"We're not even dating!" Sara exclaimed, "You can't just spring something like this on me out of nowhere!"

Greg held up his hands, taking a step back, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or make you mad...I just thought..."

"This isn't the 1800s, Greg, you don't have to marry me or something just because I'm pregnant." Sara smirked as the shock began to wear off, "Here's a tip, Romeo, try asking a woman out on a date before you ask her to move in. No wonder you're single."

Greg stood still as Sara began to walk off, finally finding his voice after a few minutes of nervous deliberation, "So, Sara? Would you like to go on a date sometime?"

Sara stopped walking, slowly turning to face Greg. With a pleased smile and a light blush, she nodded, "Sure, I'd love to."

She turned back towards the locker room, leaving a beaming Greg in the hallway. As she entered the room, Greg made sure no one was watching as he jumped excitedly, pumping his fist in the air. He finally had a date with Sara Sidle.

--

Sara turned the dial of her locker, popping open the lock and staring wide-eyed at the top shelf. On top of her jeans sat a pink bag, nearly overflowing with pink and purple tissue paper.

Flipping open the card on the outside, she blushed when she realized it was from Greg. She straddled the bench, placing the bag in front of her as she slowly untied the ribbon holding the bag handles closed.

She bit her lip to keep from crying as she pulled a soft brown teddy bear out of the bag. With her emotions bubbling at the surface, she couldn't help but be constantly amazed at Greg's thoughtfulness.

"There's more." Greg's soft voice said from the doorway, "Keep going."

Sara turned her attention back to the bag, pulling out a pink t-shirt that read "Investigator-In-Training" in bright purple letters.

She laughed quietly, carefully folding it while pulling out the last item in the bag. She looked up towards Greg with surprise as she revealed a giant bag of M&M candies, "Oh, Greg!"

"I know how you're always craving them..." Greg said with an embarrassed shrug, glancing down to the floor, "Didn't want you or the baby to have to go without..."

Sara stood, walking to Greg and embracing him tightly, "It's perfect. Thank you."

"I'd do anything for you." Greg replied quietly, inhaling the sweet strawberry scent of her shampoo, "I only wish I could do more."

Sara fought tears as she laid her head on his shoulder, "You do plenty...you feed me, you buy stuff for the baby, you make sure I eat and sleep enough, you hold back my hair when I'm sick, you...you just care. You're so much better than so many other men would be in this situation."

Tears spilled from her eyes as she sobbed into his shoulder, "What did I do to deserve such a great person like you in my life?"

Greg's eyes widened as she began to sob into his shoulder, and he gently led her to the bench, sitting her down and kneeling in front of her, "Sar, please don't cry...you know I hate to see you cry."

"I can't help it." Sara sobbed, furiously wiping the tears from her cheeks, "I'm just so...I don't even know."

Greg had to fight to keep from smiling at the hormonal woman sitting in front of him. Her mood swings were always sudden and dramatic, which proved to never leave a dull moment between the two of them.

Bringing his thumb to her face, he gently wiped her eyes with a soft smile, "It's okay to feel overwhelmed, I understand what you're going through...just remember that I'm always here for you, okay? If you need someone to cry to, rant to, or laugh with, I'm going to be right here alongside you. We're in this together."

Sara looked down at her hands, then back towards Greg with a soft smile, "Thank you."

"Let me get you some tissue or something." Greg replied, looking around the room, finally spotting a box of tissue near the door, "Sit tight."

Greg had just picked up the box when a Sara let out a tiny gasp. Rushing back to her, he worriedly asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Sara grabbed his hand, pressing it against the tiny bulge below her waist, "Do you feel that?"

"Is that...?"

"That's our baby girl." Sara said softly, beaming as she placed her own hand next to Greg, "I've never felt her move before."

They were both silent for a moment, staring in awe at their hands. After a few seconds, Greg grinned broadly, "That's because she was waiting for her Daddy."

"You're such a loser." Sara joked, disappointed when the fluttering movement stopped, "She must be asleep again."

Greg began to put the items he had bought back into the pink gift bag, looking over at Sara, who was still staring at her abdomen with gleeful surprise. Closing her locker, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet, "You know what?"

"What?" Sara asked, taking the pink bag from Greg, along with her jacket.

Greg smiled, brushing a strand of hair from Sara's face, "I'm really glad we're having a baby."

"I think I am too." Sara replied, letting Greg lead her out of the locker room, "I love her more and more each day."

Greg remained quiet as they exited the building, silently agreeing with her...he loved the baby more and more each day, as well as the person carrying her.

--

"I'm okay, I don't need anything!" Sara insisted, shooting Greg a deadly glare. "If you ask me one more time..."

Greg stood in the doorway of the bathroom, his arms crossed, "You shouldn't still be having morning sickness."

"Sometimes it lasts longer than just the first few months." Sara insisted tiredly, splashing cold water on her face, "It's not as bad as it used to be, and it's _not_ a big deal. My doctor says it's perfectly normal."

Greg sighed grumpily, shrugging slightly, "Maybe you need a new doctor."

"Go to hell." Sara said softly, rolling her eyes as she dried her face, "I'm fine."

Greg gestured to her pajama top, which was soiled from where she had been sick moments earlier, "Sure, because that's fine."

Sara rolled her eyes again, snapping in an exasperated tone, "Why are you even here? Don't you ever go home?"

"You told me to stay!" Greg protested, "Don't think you're getting out of this that easy--"

He was cut off as she darted towards the toilet again. With a resigned sigh, he moved towards her, pulling her hair back and clipping it into place, "You're warm, maybe we should call your doctor."

"I'm sure you'd be warm too if you were puking your guts up, Greg." Sara snapped bitterly with a heavy sigh, "Can you get me a change of clothes? Or would that just interrupt your pointless argument?"

"I'm just saying--"

"Clothes?" Sara snapped, shakily standing and moving back to the sink to brush her teeth, "Make yourself useful."

Greg disappeared down the hall, muttering, "And she says she doesn't have mood swings..."

"I heard that!" Sara snapped, rinsing her mouth out and splashing some cold water on her face with a groan. She leaned forward, shutting her eyes as she stifled a yawn. Yawning was what triggered her gag reflex the last time, she wasn't going to let that happen again, not with Nazi Sanders patrolling the apartment.

Drying her face off once more, she slipped off her shirt and pants, wrapping herself in her bathrobe until Greg returned with her pajamas. She bent over to pick up her clothes and put them in the hamper, but was overcome by dizziness and decided to wait until after she had a good, long nap to do anything even remotely strenuous.

Greg returned a few minutes later with a change of clothes, standing in the doorway while she took them and surveyed his choice.

"These will work." She muttered, untying her robe, "Are you going to watch me change?"

"Uh, no, sorry." Greg stammered, turning around to face the hallway, "Do you need some water or something?"

"Didn't I tell you to stop asking me if I need things?" Sara huffed, tossing her bathrobe onto the floor as she guided Greg out of the doorway, "I'll be fine. I want to go back to sleep."

Greg followed her to her bedroom, standing in the doorway while she straightened the covers on her bed. She had pulled them to the floor in the mad rush to get to the bathroom, and Greg had been observant enough about Sara's sleeping patterns to know she was unable to sleep if her covers weren't just right.

She crawled into bed, glancing back at Greg, who wore an uneasy expression.

"Are you just going to stand there?" she asked quietly, the previous hostility now gone from her voice.

"Do you want me to leave?" Greg asked, unsure of where he stood with the brunette. Sure, he had a tendency to be overprotective, but it was only because he wanted everything to be perfect for the woman he was falling in love with. With her constant mood swings, it was hard to determine whether the gesture would be appreciate or rejected.

Sara shook her head, motioning to the pillow beside her, "I sleep better when you're here."

Greg silently crawled in bed beside her, pulling a separate cover from the foot of the bed to cover himself. After a few minutes, he said quietly, "It's not okay to move in together if we're not dating, but it's okay to spend the night?"

"Shut up, Greg." Sara muttered, wrapping herself up tightly in her comforter, "Stop being a pain in the ass."

Greg shrugged, moving a little closer to her, "Can't help it, it's one of my flaws...I don't mean to nag you, you know, I just worry."

"I know." Sara replied quietly, reaching to grab his hand. She started to doze off again, whispering softly, "I like it."

"I like you, Sara." Greg whispered in response, closing his own eyes. She remained silent, and with a sigh, Greg let himself drift back to sleep. There would be plenty of time in the future for life-altering revelations, right now they both needed their rest.

_TBC_


	11. Parents

_Author's Notes:_

_Thank you to Emmithar for your help with this chapter. _

_If anyone hates it, blame her. LOL. _

_Thank everyone who replied to the previous chapter, I appreciate everyone's feedback...makes the chapters flow easier..._

_Jenny_

**Chapter Eleven:**

Sara slowly sat up, one hand on her stomach, keeping her eyes tightly shut as she waited to see if the movement would send her racing for the bathroom once more. The last few days had been rough, and she didn't think she'd last through another one. When she was convinced she would be okay, she let out a huge sigh of relief. This was a good way to start what she hoped would be a good day.

She assumed the banging in the kitchen was Greg trying to cook breakfast, and with a smile she slipped into the hallway, hoping she had enough time to take a shower before he announced breakfast was ready.

The first thing she noticed was that her dirty clothes from the night before had been picked up, and the laundry hamper had been emptied out. Stealing a glance over her shoulder, she noticed that the laundry room door was open and the dryer was quietly humming. Surprised, she moved towards the shower.

Again, she was shocked. Her towel was folded neatly on the counter top, and her brush, toothbrush, and hair dryer were all laid out neatly. The shower curtain was open, and the towel she used for a bath mat was already folded and placed down for her to step on. She was even more surprised to see that her favorite shampoo, which she had run out of the day before, was sitting on the ledge in an unopened bottle.

With a warm smile, she happily sighed and shut the door, tossing her pajamas to the floor as she stepped into the shower. Sometimes Greg knew just what to do to start her morning off perfectly.

In the kitchen, Greg was quietly cursing as he threw another burnt pancake into the trash. He had been doing a great job all morning of getting things done the way Sara liked them, and now he was stuck on cooking the easiest meal.

Pouring a another circle of batter into the pan, he waited for the top to start bubbling. This was supposed to be easy, he had watched Sara make pancakes dozens of times. His little sister and brother had been able to make them before they were even allowed to use the stove alone. His Dad could make them...and if his Dad could do it, anyone could. His Dad could barely boil water. So why was this so hard for him to master?

He flipped the half-cooked pancake over, stomping his foot when he saw that the bottom was blackened. He had no other choice but to call in reinforcements. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

"_Hello?"_

"Mom, it's me." Greg said nervously, "I need a favor?"

"_What do you need, honey?"_ she asked worriedly, _"Are you in trouble?"_

"I will be if I can't get this breakfast done right." Greg mumbled, before sighing, "I'm trying to make pancakes to surprise Sara, and they're coming out all wrong."

"You need to turn the stove down to Medium." two voices said in unison, causing Greg to jump.

"Hold on." He told his mother, spinning around to face Sara, "You're awake."

Sara smiled, walking to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek, "You're wonderful. I'll do these, talk to your Mom."

"How did you know--?"

"I know everything, Greg." Sara replied with a raised eyebrow, "Now get out of the way before your burn my apartment down."

Greg handed Sara a spatula and walked into the kitchen, his phone back on his ear, "Sorry Mom."

"_That's okay, how is Sara doing?"_

Greg sat down on the couch with a sigh, "She's been having horrible mood swings, I never know how she's going to react to anything."

"_It's all part of the process, honey."_

"And she's still suffering with morning sickness, I'm worried the baby isn't getting enough nutrients." Greg fretted, halfway waiting for a sarcastic response out of the kitchen. "And what happens if the ultrasound was wrong, and it's really a boy? We've been calling it 'her', and everyone says the baby can hear what you say in the womb, she'll be so confused."

His response was only laughter.

"That's not funny! Stop laughing at me!" Greg protested with a groan, "I'm serious, Mom."

The laughter died down, and his mother spoke softly, _"Honey, you worry to much. The doctor wouldn't have told you the sex if he wasn't fairly certain. It's not impossible that he's wrong, but it's highly unlikely. And even if it does turn out to be a boy, he won't be traumatized...as for everything else, it's all part of carrying a baby. If it makes you feel any better, I can talk to her and make sure everything's okay."_

"No!" Greg exclaimed, "That's completely unnecessary."

"_Are you afraid I'll embarrass you?"_ she laughed, _"We're going to be there next week, you can't hide her from us forever."_

Greg groaned, "It's not that...I just...I don't know. I just feel uncomfortable with you two talking, that's all. You don't even know her."

"_But I know you and I know she can't be that bad if you've chosen to marry her. Your father and I can't wait to meet her."_ She paused for a second, before adding, _"Listen honey, I've got to go, we've got to get some shopping done before your father has to go to work. I love you, and stop worrying so much!"_

Greg hung up the phone, sinking onto the couch with a moan. How would he explain this so Sara, without sounding like a horrible person? And what happened it someone let it slip to his parents that he and Sara weren't going to get married? They would be so upset. He had to talk to Sara about this, and soon.

"The pancakes are ready--" Sara stopped as she walked into the room, "What's wrong? Is everything okay with your parents?"

Greg stood, forcing himself to smile as he nodded, "Never better."

"Good, hurry up before your breakfast gets cold." Sara said with a smile, "I really appreciate this morning, you didn't have to--"

"I wanted to." Greg replied, cutting her off quietly, "How are you feeling?"

Sara smiled, again, taking a seat at the kitchen table, "Really good, thank you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sara whispered softly, "I'm sorry I've been giving you such a hard time lately."

"Don't worry about it, I know you have a lot on your plate right now."

They were silent for a few moments before Greg worked up the nerve to tell Sara something he had been trying to say for over a month. "Sara, my parents are coming into town next week for a visit."

"That's great!" Sara said with a smile, "I bet you've missed them. I'm assuming they want to meet the mother of your child?"

"Yeah...about that..."

"You have told them that I'm pregnant, right?" Sara asked, "That's not something you should hide from your parents."

"I told them." Greg muttered with a sigh, "But they were really freaked out about it, they're very old school."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that in order to stop my Mom from having a coronary, I sort of..."

"What?" Sara prodded, "You're making me nervous."

Greg bit his lip, looking down, "I told them that we're getting married..."

The silence was deafening, and Greg wished he could rewind time to erase his statement. He and Sara had been growing so close, and if her facial expression was any indication of her thoughts, that was about to go down the drain.

_TBC_


	12. Charade

_Author's Notes: I really loved writing this chapter. Lol. I hope you enjoy reading it! Happy Friday! _

_Jenny_

**Chapter Twelve:**

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Sara hissed angrily, "They're going to know we're lying. We don't even live together. We're not even dating."

Greg bit his lip to hide his smile before replying softly, "We _did_ go out Saturday night."

"One date does not equal dating." Sara replied, checking her appearance in his bathroom mirror, "What are you going to do when they ask for a wedding date? Or in five years from now when we're still 'engaged'?"

Greg shrugged, reaching over to tuck in her shirt tag, "I'll cross that road when I come to it. You look fine, Sara, stop playing with your hair."

"I"m just nervous, okay?" Sara snapped, "It's not often that I get to meet," she flashed him a smile, "My future in-laws."

Greg was still able to see the malice through her smile, and asked wearily, "I'm going to pay for this in the long run, aren't I?"

"Big time." Sara replied, "You have no idea."

Greg remained silent, expecting her to still be upset over the arrangements. She had been furious when he had first told her, but after hours of begging, and a pint of chocolate ice cream, she had given in and agreed to this crazy charade. And from the moment she agreed, it was clear she held the cards.

The last week had been filled with ice cream cones, back massages, foot massages, and chick flick movies--her price to play Greg's game had been simple enough, she got anything she wanted, and Greg had to hear her complain every so often when her conscience kicked in and told her this was a bad idea.

She picked up the brush once more, but Greg placed his hand over hers, causing her to release it, "You look beautiful, Sara."

"What if they hate me?"

Greg shrugged, "What does it matter? We aren't getting married."

"They're still your parents, and the baby's grandparents. I want to make a good first impression." Sara argued, "And who knows what the future holds? Maybe one day we will get married, and I wouldn't want to have already burned my bridges with your parents."

Greg laughed, leading her into the living room, "You won't even move in with me, but you're thinking about possibly marrying me someday?"

"Just hypothetically." Sara snapped in response, flopping onto the couch, only to jump back up when she realized she was going to wrinkle her freshly ironed maternity shirt. Smoothing the material down, she gently sat, glancing nervously towards the door.

Greg laughed, turning to face her as he sat beside her, "You're really scared, aren't you?"

"I'm fine." Sara replied in the strongest voice she could muster, although her hands were starting to shake slightly.

Greg's face lit up with his smile, "You're scared, and you can't stand it."

"Leave me alone."

"Why is this such a big deal to you?"

"Leave me alone!" Sara exclaimed, rising to her feet, "Yes, I'm nervous, okay? I've already told you I was nervous. But I'm not _scared_. There's just so much that could happen."

"Like what?" Greg asked incredulously, "We're going out to dinner, then coming back to my place. It's not supposed to be stressful."

Sara sank back onto the couch, looking down at her hands, "I could not have anything to say, I could spill my drink all over the table, I could start feeling sick and then you'll make a big scene, I can get a hot flash and start sweating and smell for the rest of the night, they could hate me from the moment they see me. Do you want me to continue?"

"You're insane."

"Shut up." Sara muttered, standing once more, "I'm going to get something to drink."

Before she could make it to the kitchen, there was a knock on the door. Whimpering slightly, she looked to Greg, who smiled gently, hugging her gently and giving her a small kiss on the forehead, "It'll be fine, I'll make sure of it."

With a frown, Sara sat back down, letting Greg walk to the front door. She was unable to shake the sense of dread weighing heavily in her stomach, and all she could think to do was pray that the night would be over quickly, and without problems.

"Oh, this must be Sara!"

Sara looked up with a forced smile and stood to greet Greg's mother, a smile on her face, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanders."

"Look at you!" the older woman gushed, her hand instantly moving to Sara's extending belly, "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Greg's told us so much about you. Please call me Nora, and this is Thomas. Greg was right, you are beautiful."

Sara blushed, looking down with a shy smile, "Thank you."

"I'll help Dad get your bags from the car." Greg said quietly after a few moments of awkward silence.

Greg and Thomas disappeared, and Nora sat down on the couch, patting the seat beside her, "Have a seat, dear, I won' t bite."

Sara blushed slightly, offering Nora a small smile as she sat down, her hands coming to rest on her swollen belly. "Greg's been so excited about your visit."

"I'm glad to hear it, since all he's been doing for the last week is reminding me not to embarrass him." Nora laughed, "How are you feeling, dear? You look awfully pale. Have you been eating enough protein and iron?"

"I'm okay." Sara replied, tugging sightly at the hem of her shirt, "I'm taking vitamins..."

Nora smiled, patting Sara's hand gently, "You'll have to excuse me, I'm a nurse, and it's a bad habit of mine to start out conversations with personal questions."

Sara laughed, shrugging her shoulders, "It's not a big deal, but at least now I can see where Greg gets it from."

"If he's anything like his father, I can imagine he's giving you a pretty hard time. He tends to be overprotective at times." Nora said with a smile, "Let me tell you about this one time, when little Elisa, my youngest, was a baby. Greg was 3 or 4, and anytime anyone would go near her, he would bite them, trying to protect her from strangers."

"Of course," Thomas's voice came from the hallway as he walked in with a suitcase, "When the priest was trying to baptize her, it didn't go over so well."

"Mom, you've been here less than 10 minutes and you're already breaking out the baby stories?" Greg groaned, "No one needs to know what I did when I was a toddler."

"Sara needs to know what she's getting herself in to." Nora protested.

Sara laughed, her eyes shining brightly as she added, "If you try to bite me every time I go to pick up our child..."

"I'd never bite you."Greg replied, smiling despite his embarrassment.

Nora chuckled, standing and walking to her son, hugging him tightly, "Oh, I've missed you so much."

"Mom." Greg half-whined, fiercely returning the hug with a smile, despite his protesting tone.

Thomas emerged from the guest room, slapping his hand against the side of his leg, "Who's ready for dinner?"

"Oh, honey, I'm starving." Nora replied, "Greg, Sara, are you ready?"

"Ready whenever you are." Greg replied, starting to relax a bit once he realized his parents weren't going to completely humiliate him, "Sara?"

"Sure."

Greg walked to Sara, offering his hand to help her rise, despite the daggers she shot him at the gesture. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he led her to the doorway, where his parents were already waiting. Leaning into his embrace, Sara smiled warmly. His embrace was always so warm and inviting, always leaving her feeling peaceful inside.

"You two make the most beautiful pair." Nora gushed as they made their way down to the car, "You look like you belong together."

"Great pick, son.' Thomas replied with a broad smile, his face showing how proud he was of his son. "I'm glad you finally started to settle down, Tory was starting a rumor that you may be...you know...batting for the other team."

"When I get my hands on that little snot-faced brat--" Greg fumed, shaking his head. Glancing down at Sara's curious face, explaining, "Tory is my older sister's daughter. She's, what, 15?"

"16." Nora supplied, "She's dedicated her entire life to making Greg miserable. She started as a child picking on him relentlessly, and it's just grown into a feud over the years."

Seeing Sara's shocked expression, Nora added, "It's all in fun, though, right Greg?"

"Yeah, fun." Greg replied sarcastically, although his tone went unnoticed by his parents. Sara looked up at him with a smile, shaking her head as she deeply inhaled, wondering why she had been so nervous about this night at all.

--

"They're really great." Sara whispered softly, sitting next to Greg on his bed while he gently rubbed her shoulders, "I love your Mom, she's so funny."

Greg smiled, gently moving her hair so he could get the base of her neck, "Thank you so much for doing this for me, even spending the night...you're such a wonderful woman."

Sara laughed softly, "You must have been such a trip as a child, I wish I could have known you then."

"What were you like as a child?"

The room was silent for a few moments before Sara softly spoke, "I mostly kept to myself. I lived by the beach, so I'd usually just walk to the beach, sit in the sand, and read. I didn't like to stay at home too often."

"If I lived on the beach, I wouldn't stay home either." Greg replied, not noticing her sad tone. He continued to rub her shoulders, a smile on his face, "I think Mom really liked you. Dad too."

"I hope I'm what they expected for you...I don't have anything really special."

Greg sighed, "You're very special, Sara, you just don't see it. I wouldn't have picked anyone else to be my fake-fiancé."

Sara laughed softly, relaxing a bit under Greg's hands, "I'm glad I'm going through this with you. I've really enjoyed these last few months."

"So have I." Greg replied, moving her hair again. Before either realized what was going on, he had leaned over to kiss her shoulder, trailing to her neck.

Sara turned her head, moving one hand to Greg's head, pulling him closer as she let her warm lips crash against his. She moaned softly as they both fell against the bed, hungrily kissing.

"Are you sure?" Greg asked, gasping for air as he held himself up on top of her, careful not to put his weight on the baby.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

_TBC_


	13. Unlucky Thirteen

_Author's Notes: Sorry this took me so long to get out, I didn't think I'd ever finish it...then when I did have the right inspiration, I wasn't on the right computer. Silly me. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!_

_Jenny_

**Chapter Thirteen:**

Slowly opening her eyes, Sara let out a groan, realizing that the unsteady swaying was not a dream. It was a good sign, however, that she didn't feel the unrelenting urge to scramble to the bathroom. That was always a good way to begin the day. Rolling over, she realized that Greg was gone.

Their kiss the previous night had been rudely interrupted by Grissom, who had called Greg in to work a multiple homicide. She had hoped he would be back by now, but obviously they weren't that lucky. With a bitter sigh, she shut her eyes, trying to escape the unrelenting dizziness.

She jumped when the phone rang, hurriedly answering it before the call disturbed Thomas and Nora, who she assumed were still sleeping in the room next to hers.

"Hello?" she whispered, her voice thick with sleep. Clearing her throat, she tried again, "Hello?"

"Hey Sara," Catherine's cheery voice rang through, as if it was the most natural thing for Sara to be answering Greg's home phone, "Is Greg still there?"

"Still here?" Sara yawned tiredly, "I thought he was with you guys? Are you still at the scene?"

Catherine groaned, "You're lucky decomps make you queasy, because the rest of us are knee deep in a cesspool of human fat. We'll be here for a few more hours, at the least. Anyway, Greg was supposed to be passing by there for a change of clothes, and I was going to remind him to swing by the lab for some waders while he was out."

"Sounds lovely." Sara replied, blanching slightly at the thought, "I honestly don't know if he's made it back yet, but if I see him, I'll tell him. Do you need some extra help?"

"I'll try him on his cell, and don't worry about coming out here, enjoy lounging in bed and get some rest. Morning sickness is bad enough under normal circumstances, you'd be miserable out here." Catherine replied softly, "See you tonight."

"Okay." Sara replied, hanging up the phone with a sigh. She knew she wouldn't be able to work such a gruesome scene without contaminating the evidence, but she still hated to be left out. Slowly rising out of bed, she decided to get some coffee started for Greg, so he'd have some fresh to take back to the scene with him.

She stumbled into the kitchen, her breath catching as she spotted the roses on the kitchen table. With a smile, she bent over to smell their sweet aroma, and plucked the card out of the center.

_Sara, _

_6 months ago, I never would have imagined I'd be having a baby, let alone one with you. As unexpected and terrifying as it started, I'm very glad we're doing this. I look forward to continuing last night, if you still want to. _

_Xoxo-_

_Greg_

Sara smiled, slipping the card back into the envelope and placing it gently on the table. He always knew exactly what to say to make her smile and brighten her morning.

Next to the flowers sat two small pink boxes. Opening the first, she found a silver charm bracelet, in the second, a small pink, yellow, and purple afghan. With a soft sigh, she happily snapped the bracelet around her wrist, holding the baby's blanket to her cheek. The material was soft and smooth, and she couldn't help but realize just how strongly she felt for Greg as she surveyed his handy work. Every time she thought she couldn't respect and adore him any more, he did something like this to surprise her. He truly was, hands down, the most amazing person she had ever known.

She turned to get the phone, wanting to thank him, but was overcome by dizziness and sank into the kitchen chair with a quiet moan. A hand guided her head to her knees, startling Sara briefly before realizing that the soft touch was coming from Greg's mother, Nora.

"Take a deep breath." Nora instructed quietly, "Wait until you feel steady, then count to sixty before picking your head up."

Sara did as she was told, relieved to see the dizzy spell had subsided slightly when her brown eyes met Nora's own. "Thanks."

"No problem, I saw you turn white and I thought for sure I'd have to do my Superman impersonation to keep you from hitting the floor." Nora said quietly, taking a seat across from Sara, "Looks like my son's been busy."

Sara nodded, absentmindedly fingering the bracelet he had purchased for her, "He's always so thoughtful."

"He loves you, it's always written so clearly on his face. You're a special woman, Sara." Nora replied, "I'm assuming he's at work?"

Sara nodded, stifling a yawn, "Multiple homicide, he'll probably be there most of the day."

"That's really too bad." Nora replied, "I was hoping we'd spend the day together today. Greg always talks so much about the different things to do in Vegas, I was hoping we'd get the tour."

"I could take you." Sara offered half-heartedly, although the idea of going anywhere in a vehicle made her feel not only exhausted, but slightly sick as well. "Really, I could give a decent tour."

Shaking her head, Nora replied gently, "Dear, you look exhausted. Why don't you go lay back down? I can whip us all up some breakfast and I'll even bring it to you in bed. You need your rest. Thomas and I can survive on our own for a bit."

Normally, Sara would have argued with anyone who even tried to tell her what to do, but when it came from Nora, it was so sweet and gentle that she couldn't help but agree. Nodding, she allowed the older woman to help her rise, making sure she was steady before Sara disappeared down the hallway and into the bedroom.

She laid down, reaching for the phone to call Greg. As she touched the receiver, it began to ring, and she lifted it, gently speaking, "Hello?"

"Hey Sara, it's Catherine...I know we told you to stay home, but could you possibly meet up with Nick at the lab and push some of this evidence through?" Catherine asked hopefully, "If you don't feel up to it...it's okay, of course, but it would be a really huge help."

Sara fought a yawn as she agreed to meet him at the lab, as soon as she was showered, and she tiredly stumbled into the bathroom to get ready to go. The more she thought about working, the more she wished she could just curl up and go back to sleep. Stifling another yawn, she made a promise to her weary body that she'd work as fast as possible, with the hopes of getting a nap before having to go back in that evening.

--

"Anything back on our fiber samples?" Sara asked tiredly, meeting up with Nick in the hallway. She had been working for the better part of the day, and was about to fall asleep standing.

Nick shook his head, stopping as he took Sara's hand into his own, "Sara, you need to drink more water and stuff, you're starting to swell. My sister had a baby last year, and she said that ice water is great for that, take a few bottles and freeze them until they're about a quarter of the way done...all-around cure for morning sickness, swelling, sleepiness...if anything, the jolt of ice will bring you out of this zombie like state you're always wandering around in."

"Started off nice, but somehow that ended in an insult." Sara noted, studying her hands, "They're just a little swollen, but that's part of the 'joy of pregnancy'. I'll keep the water thing in mind, though."

"Sure thing." Nick started to walk away, but stopped, "GCMS and tox screens?"

Sara held up her folder, the room starting to sway slightly, "Got them, I'll explain to you once we get to the break room."

"We're going to the break room?"

"We are now." Sara replied, walking towards the break room, Nick close behind. She didn't want to come out and tell Nick she felt horrible, but she knew that if she had to stand in the hallway for much longer, she would probably pass out. She stopped in the doorway, surprised to see Nora and Thomas sitting at the table, animatedly talking to Warrick, who was sipping on a cup of coffee.

With a warm smile, she sat beside Nora, "I didn't realize you two were even here. Is Greg back?"

"He's getting changed." Warrick replied, "Should be here in just a few seconds."

Nora turned to Sara, "Now dear, honestly, you should be at home. You're a total wreck, look at those bags under your eyes! I can't believe my son would have the mother of his child, the woman he is going to marry, carry on like this. You need to find that supervisor of yours and tell him you need some time off."

"Marry?" Nick and Warrick asked in unison, shooting Sara a questioning gaze.

Sara looked up, startled, only to meet the gaze of an equally apprehensive Greg in the doorway.

"Oh, didn't you guys know? Greg, I can't believe you'd keep such wonderful news from your coworkers!" Thomas exclaimed, unaware of the horrified looks that passed over both Sara and Greg's faces.

Grissom walked up behind Greg, "What news?"

Catherine joined Grissom, just in time to hear Nick announce, "Greg and Sara are getting married."

_TBC_


	14. Complications

_Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay in posting this, I've been awfully sick and on top of that, I'm preparing for the end of the semester...as it is, I have until 11 am tomorrow to read 9 long chapters in my forensics book to prepare for that final, and I haven't even started on my 10 page research paper due next week. Eeks! So, with that said, this will be a little shorter than usual. Oh, and thanks for everyone who replied to the last chapter, if I didn't get back to you...I tried to reply to everyone, but with the alerts and all down for a bit, I probably missed a few. Thanks!_

_Jenny_

**Unregulated Chapter 14:**

The bathroom door slowly creaked open as Sara peered cautiously into the deserted hallway. Sighing heavily, she leaned against the wall, sliding the lock back into place. She took a deep, steadying breath as she tried to dispel the growing anxiety building inside of her tired body.

She had fled the room, claiming morning sickness, as soon as Grissom's surprised gaze met her own horrified brown eyes. She had expected Greg to follow her, being the overprotective little deceiver he was, but instead she was left alone to panic in the sterile tiled room.

Hearing footsteps echoing down the hall, she cracked the door open slightly, relieved to see her partner in crime. She yanked open the door when he walked by, using the last bit of energy she had to pull him into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Greg hissed, "This is the girl's bathroom, I could get in trouble for being in here!"

Sara's eyes narrowed and she spat out, "I'll show you trouble!"

Greg was silent for a moment before muttering softly, "Any chance that this marriage thing will just blow over?"

"Just blow over!" Sara cried out, pushing him against the wall, "If you hadn't opened your big mouth and lied to your parents, we wouldn't be in this situation. This isn't going to go away, and I'm not going to let you run away from this! You may see your parents only once a year, but we work with these people, they'll notice if we don't start making wedding plans."

"You could always just marry me." Greg replied, shielding himself from the attack he was sure would follow.

Instead, Sara turned away from him, anxiously pacing the room, "I'm going to ignore that, only because we need to focus. This is a serious problem, Greg. What happens if Ecklie hears about this? We'd be on different shifts so fast our heads would spin. I really like my life just the way it is now. And if we don't get married? Our friends will think we're complete liars. I knew this would blow up in our faces, I knew it!"

"How was I supposed to know they'd blab it to the entire lab?" Greg asked defensively, "You can't blame me for their big mouths."

Sara ignored him, running her fingers nervously through her hair, "Okay, we've got to come clean and tell them the truth."

"Unless..." Greg began, his eyes lighting up, "We could..."

"No!" Sara interrupted, "I don't even want to hear it."

Greg shook his head, moving in front of her and holding her arms, "Listen to me, it's a perfect plan! If we do it right, we all come out smelling like roses, okay?"

"I'm probably going to regret this," Sara sighed, looking up at her younger counterpart, "But go ahead and tell me this 'perfect' plan."

With an excited grin, Greg pulled away, his eyes lit up with enthusiasm, "All we have to do is convince everyone that we've broken up! We can stage a huge fight, here at work, and publicly end our relationship. Then you can go back to my place, pack up your stuff, and I'll storm in, and we'll have a round two for my parents. That why we don't have to admit we staged this entire engagement, and after a few days of awkwardness, everything will return to normal."

"That's never going to work." Sara said with a tired sigh, "Not in a million years."

Greg crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow skeptically, "Do you have a better idea?"

A knock on the door cut off Sara's response, and after a second knock, Catherine's worried voice traveled through the wood, "Sara? Are you in there? Can you unlock the door please?"

Sara stared at Greg with wide eyes, yelping, "Just a minute!" before shoving Greg into the last stall, ordering him quietly to lift his feet so he wouldn't be seen. Once he was secluded, Sara slid the lock on the door open, allowing Catherine in.

"Stupid lock just keeps getting stuck." Sara remarked as she walked to the sinks to look in the mirror, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Catherine replied, standing beside the brunette as she messed with her hair, "Are you feeling alright? You look flushed."

Sara moved away as Catherine reached out to touch her forehead, flashing the blonde a small smile, "I'm fine...morning sickness, you know."

"It's a killer." Catherine said with a nod, "Let me know if you need anything. Congratulations, by the way, you and Greg make such a good couple."

"Thanks." Sara replied softly, turning the tap water on as Catherine disappeared into one of the first stalls. There was no turning back now, they'd have to go with Greg's plan. To admit now that they weren't even dating would crush Nora and Thomas, and now that their friends were involved, it was too tricky to explain everything that was going on.

She splashed her face with water, relieved when Catherine finally left, and let out a long, heavy sigh. She looked up to see Greg in the mirror, a sheepish grin on his face, "Now are you ready to start working on the details of my master plan?"

"Let's start a fight." Sara agreed turning the water off and grabbing a paper towel, "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

"It's my charm, you can't resist it."

Greg didn't even bother to duck out of the way as she tossed her paper towel at him, a scowl on her face.

"What?" He asked, "Isn't it my charm that got us in this mess in the first place?"

"I believe what got us into this mess is Tequila and lies." Sara pointed out, "When's this going to go down?"

"At the start of shift tomorrow night." Greg replied, "We'll both go home now, and the next time they see us, it's all going to hit the fan."

--

Standing outside the door to the lab, Greg took a deep breath, "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Sara replied, pausing as she reached for the door handle, "Should we be fighting as we walk up to the room, or just wait until we're there."

"A little bit of nitpicking in the hallway wouldn't hurt anything." Greg said after thinking for a few moments, "Locker room or break room?"

"Wherever the majority of our coworkers are." Sara replied, rubbing her forehead tiredly. It seemed lately she couldn't get rid of her awful monstrosity of a headache, no matter how hard she tried.

Both exchanged nervous smiles as they entered the lab, Sara making sure she was a few steps away from her counterpart so it would seem like they were actually tense around each other.

However, when they entered the break room, their plan hit a gigantic snag.

"Surprise!"

Sara took a step backwards as the room lit up around the two of them, all of their coworkers, along with Greg's parents, staring at them with excited smiles on their faces. Well, except for Grissom, who wore his normal stoic expression.

She turned to face Greg, who wore an equally shocked expression on his face, "I...wow..."

"This is unexpected." Sara murmured, her eyes wide, "Um, thanks."

Nick walked to the pair, giving them a big hug, "Nora and I got together and thought it would be a good idea to give Sara a baby shower, since Nora and Thomas won't be around to participate closer to your due date. Catherine thought it would be a great idea to have an engagement party at the same time, since you're getting married and all."

"You shouldn't have." Greg mumbled, his face red with embarrassment. "This is so much..."

"Nonsense, you're our friends, part of our work family, and we're so happy for you guys!" Catherine piped up, motioning to the cake, "We even got cake, I know how much Sara's been craving sweets."

Managing a weak smile, Sara thanked her female colleague. As everyone began to talk, Sara turned to Greg, whispering softly, "Abort plan?"

"Not necessarily..." Greg replied, "Visit for awhile, then follow my lead."

Sara moved towards Nora and Thomas, giving both of them a hug, "Thanks guys, it means a lot that you can be a part of this."

"Oh, honey, we just want the best for you and Greg." Nora replied, "You look exhausted, don't wear yourself out now, you hear?"

Sara smiled, blushing slightly, "It's just a headache, don't worry about it."

"Oh, believe me, she's going to worry." Thomas laughed, "Worrying is what she does best."

"That's a trait she definitely passed to Greg." Sara laughed, relaxing slightly. So far, so good, their cover hadn't been blown yet and they were staying far away from the marriage topic.

Greg's cold voice was a shock, and she had to remind herself that this was all a sham as tears filled her eyes at his words, "Is it a crime to care for you, Sara? Why are you always downplaying my feelings for you."

"What?" Sara asked, turning to face his seemingly angry face, "I'm just saying that you always hover over me like you're afraid I'm going to break. I never said you didn't care for me."

Greg shook his head, his heart breaking slightly at the wounded look on Sara's face. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to remember that this was an act, he wasn't really hurting her, "You didn't have to say it, you've been giving me a hard time for six months now. Isn't it enough that you got us into this situation?"

"Greg! That's enough!" Thomas hissed as the entire room stopped to stare at the duo who were now standing face to face, anger etched onto their normally happy faces.

"No! It's not enough! She turns her nose at everything I do for her!"

A wave of dizziness passed through Sara, and she held on to the chair beside her as she tried to remember what to say next. After a few moments, she said cooly, "If you think I'm that haughty, if you think I don't appreciate you, then maybe we're making a mistake by getting married."

"If you feel that way, we shouldn't be getting married at all!" Greg shouted, resisting the temptation to survey everyone's reactions, to see if they were buying their display, "I don't know why I thought I love someone like you."

"Someone like me? Why would anyone want to be with a grownup who acts like a child? You're always hovering over me and checking up on me, when you're the one who needs to be babysat!"

"Like you don't need anyone to hold your hand and tell you when it's time to go home in the morning? To remind you to take your vitamin, eat, and rest? Do you even care about that baby--"

Greg's response was cut off by a slap from Nora, "Son, that's enough. You need to step outside and cool off."

"Mom, you've only known her for a few days, I've known her for years, there's no way she's going to be able to be a good mother to my daughter! She doesn't know the first thing about kids, about marriage, about anything!"

"Yet you chose to marry her." Nora reminded him, "You two are in love, son."

Greg looked from his red-faced mother, then to a pale Sara, and back to his mother, "Asking her to marry me was the biggest mistake I ever made."

"Well, saying yes was the biggest--" Sara's voice faltered as she grasped the chair tighter, "The biggest mistake I ever made!"

Greg took a step towards her, "That's a laugh, Sara Sidle admitting she's ever made a mistake. I guess there really is a first time for everything."

"Greg, stop." Sara groaned as the room spun around her, causing her to go from holding the chair to leaning against it.

Greg, not noticing her distress, continued in a hard tone, "I'm through with you."

"Greg, stop!" Sara protested once more, her voice growing serious, "That's enough--"

"You can't tell me what--" Greg began, only to be cut off as Sara's eyes fluttered and she fell towards the floor, unconscious. The room was eerily silent for half a second before erupting in complete chaos.

_TBC_


	15. Guilt

_Author's Notes: Sorry this took me so long to get out...this story doesn't seem to want to be written! Thank you to everyone who replied, I love you guys! Reviews makes the chapters flow, so if you want to see quicker updates, shower me with comments. :-D _

_Jenny_

**Chapter 15:**

"How much longer do you think it's going to be?" Nick asked, nervously glancing towards the emergency room doors, "They've had her back there for over an hour already."

"It takes time to assess her condition," Nora spoke softly, her hand on Nick's shoulder, "Getting worked up won't do us any good." As she spoke, her gaze drifted to her son, who was pacing on the opposite side of the room, his arms wrapped tightly around his trembling body.

Staring at the white tile floor, Greg shivered involuntarily, unable to get his mind off of Sara's pale, still body laying on the break room floor. He had seen the disgust mixed with horror on his friends faces as she collapsed, it was clear that they blamed him. How could they not?

It was supposed to be such a simple plan. How could he have not noticed how distressed she was becoming? She had told him to stop, and like a fool, he hadn't listened. He had assumed it was part of the act. An act that he set up as a solution to a problem that he created because he was too afraid to admit to his parents that he had made a mistake. Because of his irresponsibility, he could lose not only his best friend, but his child as well.

Defeated, he collapsed into a nearby chair, his head dropping into his hands as he tried to fight the guilty tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks. He didn't need to meet his friend's expressions to know they too believed that he was the cause of this turn of events. Even his parents had seemed cold towards him since arriving at the hospital.

Footsteps echoed towards the waiting room, and Greg looked up hopefully, his shoulders sagging as he realized the footsteps were only coming from his father, who had been sitting in the church sanctuary since his arrival. He turned his head away as his father took a seat next to him, and when Thomas's hand made contact with Greg's hair, the younger man hastily rose, moving towards the window.

He couldn't answer any questions, he couldn't make small talk. He couldn't do anything until Sara and their daughter were safe. What could he say, anyway? Any attempt at defending his actions would blow their story, and the last thing he needed right now was a public altercation with his overbearing parents.

How was he going to admit to all of these people that he had lied to them? That he and Sara had purposefully deceived each and every one of them? His heart felt heavy and the room seemed to be growing warmer around him. He had to get out of the room, away from his prying parents, his worried friends.

Silently, he walked towards the door, careful not to rush and draw attention to himself. Despite his best efforts, he could feel their accusatory glares penetrating through his skin, deep into his already breaking heart. Blood pounded in his ears, drowning out his mother's worried tone when she asked where he was going, Nick's hurtful question of how he could possibly leave when they don't know anything. His heart raced and he found it hard to breathe as he picked up his speed, needing to get out of the sterile hospital walls.

The cool night air hit him like an icy wave and he took a deep breath, falling against the brick walls as the clean air filled his aching lungs. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths while trying to regain what little control he possessed. He slid to the cold concrete, his knees pulled to his chest as he silently forced himself to be strong, not to cry. This wasn't the time for tears, he had to be strong for the woman he loved and the child they shared.

He looked up wearily as he heard footsteps approaching, dread filling the pit of his stomach once he realized it was Catherine. He looked down, trying to keep his breathing steady and appear calm, but his shaking hands easily gave him away to the older CSI.

"How are you holding up?" She asked quietly, squatting down to observe the younger man carefully.

Greg remained silent, diverting his eyes to the ground, keeping his gaze fixed on the tiny trail of ants on the concrete. Maybe if he ignored her, she'd get the hint and leave.

She sat down with a sigh, pressing her back against the brick wall, one knee bent for her to rest an elbow on. Both were silent for a moment, although Greg was nearly certain that both could hear his heart beating wildly through his chest.

"I know how terrifying it can be, not knowing what's happening." Catherine admitted quietly, tapping her hand against her knee as she studied the young man, "When I was pregnant with Lindsey, I took a nasty fall down some stairs. There was a lot of blood, pain...I wasn't sure she was going to pull through. I wasn't much farther along than Sara is right now." She paused, hoping for some sort of reaction from Greg, "Waiting's the worst part."

"She told me to stop." Greg muttered, shaking his head as he tried to make his mouth stop moving, "She told me to stop and I didn't listen."

Catherine's hand stopped tapping and she timidly reached out for Greg's hand, not too surprised when he jerked it away, a scowl on his face. "Greg, you can't beat yourself up over this. For all we know, she just has low blood sugar. You can't control nature."

"She told me to stop!" Greg shouted, shakily rising to his feet, "Don't you understand? We had it all mapped out, that wasn't part of the plan! She told me to stop, but I didn't listen! I yelled at her! I didn't stop!"

Catherine grabbed the wall to hastily pull herself to her feet, trying to keep up with Greg, who was now anxiously pacing the sidewalks, mumbling incessantly to himself as his emotions bubbled towards the surface.

"What plan? What are you talking about?" Catherine asked, reaching out to touch Greg and flinching when he angrily jerked away, "Greg, calm down--"

"You don't understand!" Greg shouted, his arm angrily gesturing towards the hospital, "This is all a huge lie! All of it! Everything! You guys don't have the slightest clue what's going on!"

"Greg, calm down, you aren't making any sense." Catherine said soothingly, trying to keep up with Greg's fevered pace, "What's a lie? What don't we understand?"

Greg stopped, tears streaming down his cheeks as he exclaimed, "Everything is completely screwed up. Sara is all alone, and she doesn't know how much I love her. And you guys...you don't know anything...and Mom and Dad, they're going to be so disappointed...I got her into this mess, and now she's suffering because of my stupidity."

Greg sank to the grass, Catherine following in suit as she wrapped her arms tightly around him, letting him sob into her shoulder. She gently rocked him back and forth, thoroughly confused as to what was going on, but still feeling horrible pain for her friend and the agony he was obviously struggling through. His sobs turned to sniffles, and slowly, he pulled away, his cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.

"I...I'm sorry." Greg muttered, staring down at the grass as he began to pick individual blades and knot them with his fingers, "I don't know what came over me."

"If you didn't lose it once and awhile, you wouldn't be human."Catherine soothed, "Want to tell me the whole story?"

"I guess I should." Greg hesitantly agreed, still refusing to meet her gaze.

He was silent for a few moments, and just as Catherine was going to question him further, he began to speak softly, "It all started off as a huge mistake. We had gotten lost in the desert, and we came back and all of a sudden everyone was treating us differently. We didn't know you guys thought we were dating...we went out to a bar and got completely trashed, and wound up back at Sara's place, and that's when the baby was conceived. To make a long story short," Greg said softly, trailing his finger through the damp grass, "My parents were shocked to find out that they were going to be grandparents. I had to come up with something to make it seem less shocking, so I told them Sara and I had been dating, and we were engaged."

Catherine nodded, trying to show she was listening, but not wanting to disrupt his tale with her list of questions.

Seeing her silent encouragement, he continued, "I didn't think it was a big deal. My parents never come to Vegas. Well, of course they wanted to meet Sara...so I had to tell her that I lied to my parents. She moved in for the week, and we set up this elaborate plan to convince them we were together." He laughed dryly, "The truth is...we're barely even dating. The closest we had come was kissing, and even then I was interrupted with work. We're friends, nothing more."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Catherine asked quietly, seeing Greg beginning to close up, "We could have kept your secret."

Greg laughed dryly, "We never thought you guys would cross paths with my parents, and by the time you did, it was too late. The damage was done...so we came up with a plan..."

"To stage a public breakup?" Catherine questioned with a slight wince, "That's why you two were fighting?"

Greg nodded, his face flushed, "It seemed like a good idea, Sara wasn't too sure, but it was the only way to not have to admit that we had been lying to everyone. We didn't want to let anyone down...but I couldn't even do that right. I knew Sara hadn't been feeling well, and she's been unsteady all night. I thought when she told me to stop that it was part of the act, but I should have known better. And I kept egging her on, and now she's unconscious and everyone thinks I'm a horrible boyfriend for picking on a pregnant woman."

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes once more, and as he made a move to wipe them away, he spotted Warrick walking towards them, a tense expression on his normally calm face.

"Greg, you need to get inside, they have news on Sara."

_TBC_


	16. Truth

_Author's Notes: It's been a long, long week, but I finally just made myself sit down and write this. This one goes out to my friend Sam, my CSI buddy and my fanfic-addict-in-progress. Thanks to everyone who's still reading, let me know what you think!_

_Jenny _

**Chapter Sixteen:**

Nora lightly rapped on Sara's door, pausing for a moment before entering the dimly lit room. Her apprehensive expression turned to a relaxed smile as she saw the younger woman awake in bed, a scowl on her face as she flipped through several pamphlets the doctor had given her to review.

"Well, hello there little-Momma." Nora said quietly, sitting on the edge of Sara's sterile white bed, "How are you holding up?"

Sara managed a small smile, motioning to the clutter on her bed, "The more of these I read, the more worried I get. I never imagined pregnancy being so...dangerous."

"No one does, it's supposed to be a wonderful experience."

"Wonderful." Sara reply dryly with a snort of laughter, "Apparently I missed that memo."

Nora squeezed Sara's hand tightly, "You're going to be just fine, sweetie. You just listen to that doctor and do everything he tells you to. You're over halfway to the end, and you've done a wonderful job so far. You're one tough cookie."

"Thanks. Greg says the same thing." her voice trailed off slightly as her gaze fell to the sheets, her eyes suddenly glistening with tears as she felt a wave of emotional pain pass through her exhausted body. She sighed heavily, Greg's name on her lips.

Nora used her free hand to rub the top of the brunette's swollen hand, a soft smile on her face, "Sitting in here, troubled, isn't going to help your situation out, doll."

"Have you seen Greg?" Sara asked quietly, fighting to hold her tears back. "He hasn't been by yet."

Nora was quiet for a moment before replying softly, "Greg feels...confused, I suppose...by everything that's going on. I haven't spoke to him, but he's downstairs. I think he's feeling a bit guilty about that blow up the two of you had earlier..."

"In other words, he's beating himself up over something he played no part in?" Sara asked with a smirk, "Doesn't really surprise me, he loves this baby so much."

"He loves you too, Sara." Nora spoke softly, "Just because a couple has a fight, that doesn't mean that it's over. Right now, in your condition, the two of you need to stick together and face this challenge head on. It's not the time for you to pull apart and try to do this alone."

Both were silent for a few moments before Nora continued in a voice thick with tears, "Sara, hon, I know that he's hard to get along with sometimes. Most men are. I'd be lying if I told you Thomas and I haven't had our spats...just...Greg's had a hard time finding someone he loves, and you make him so happy. Please don't let this destroy the relationship you both cherish so tightly."

Nora fell silent, waiting for Sara's response. The moment their eyes met, Sara began to sob, pulling her hand away from the older woman to cover her face as her small frame shook with tears.

"I...I don't deserve this from you." Sara sobbed, furiously wiping her tears away as they fell, "Greg and I...we...Nora..."

Nora reached out to rub Sara's back gently, urging her to breathe and calm down. After a few seconds, Sara's sobs turned into hiccups and sniffles, and she shrugged off Nora's touch, "Nora, stop...there's so much you don't know."

"Whatever it is, hon, it's not worth getting this worked up over. Think about that baby, you aren't supposed to be getting this--"

"Nora, we've been lying to you." Sara spat out, refusing to meet the older woman's eyes, "You should hate me, Greg, we've been deceiving you for months."

Nora reached out to brush a tear off of Sara's cheek, obviously confused, "What are you talking about? Lying? Hate? Deception?"

"We've been lying to you." Sara repeated shakily, "About everything. I don't even know where to begin. I don't know how to tell this to you. I don't know why we let it get so out of control. I don't know anything, anymore."

Nora squeezed Sara's hand, softly encouraging her to continue.

Sara squeezed Nora's hand tightly, "I'm so sorry, Nora, I love you. I love Thomas. I love being around you, and the way that being a part of such a great family makes me feel. You guys have been nothing but great to both Greg and I, and we don't deserve it." She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she let her gaze travel to the ceiling. With a shaking voice, she continued slowly, "Greg and I weren't a couple when this baby was conceived. We were friends, yes, but our baby's the product of a night of heavy, heavy drinking." She shut her eyes, forcing the rest out quickly before her tears could spill over once more, "Greg came up with the idea to tell you guys that we were engaged, because he didn't want to disappoint you. I didn't know until last week, but he asked me to play along, so I did. So when you showed up at work and told everyone, we decided to stage a public breakup so you'd think we weren't together and we could get out of the obligation to get married, because we don't want to get married just for the baby's sake. Greg and I...we're seeing each other, but we're nowhere near ready to get married."

Sara kept her eyes tightly shut, ignoring the few tears that escaped through her closed lids as she waited for Nora to blow up. After a few moments, Nora squeezed Sara's hand, quietly coaxing the younger woman to look at her.

"Sara, I'm very glad that you felt comfortable enough to admit this to me, even though it would have been a lot better coming from my son. It must have been such a horrible burden, carrying this on your shoulders." She gently placed a motherly kiss on Sara's forehead, "Don't worry about it, everyone makes mistakes. The difference between you and most people is that you were able to admit to and take responsibility for yours."

"So you don't hate me?" Sara asked, meeting Nora's gentle eyes with her own surprised ones. "Are you serious?"

"How could I possibly hate the woman carrying my grandchild?" Nora questioned with a small laugh, "I'm going to go find that son of mine and drag him back here where he belongs."

Sara remained silent until Nora reached the doorway. As the door shut behind her, Nora barely heard her soft "Thank you". Shaking her head slightly, she marched down to the waiting room to have a few words with her wayward son.

--

Greg stood in the waiting room, his hands in his pockets as he paced the length of the room, ignoring Catherine's quiet words of support as she struggled to keep up with the anxious man.

"Greg, there's nothing to worry about. Sara's going to be fine."

"Didn't you _hear_ the doctor?" Greg snapped, running his fingers anxiously through his hair, "The part about the high blood pressure? The likelihood of a very, very premature baby? The complete bed-rest? Hospitalization? Risks? Possible death?"

Catherine grabbed Greg's arm, forcing him to stop while she spoke, "Greg, calm down, you need to be calm for Sara's sake. For the baby's sake. Take a huge, deep breath, okay?"

Greg did as instructed, sinking into a chair as his adrenaline started to pump a bit slower, "Catherine, I can't lose her. I can't lose our baby. I love them both so much...I'm so scared."

"I know you are." Catherine soothed quietly, "It's really scary to know someone you love is sick. But this isn't something too terribly uncommon. They're going to do everything they can to treat her."

Greg remained silent, his head in his hands. His heart had stopped briefly once he had come face to face with the doctor, expecting the worst. His relief that both mother and child were alive had been quickly extinguished when the doctor had given his diagnosis, Preeclampsia. He had explained that the only treatment was to deliver the baby, but at her early gestational age it was unlikely the fetus would survive. Their plan of action was to stimulate the fetus with drugs to help her develop quicker, and try to delay delivery as long as possible. They were hoping for 10 more weeks, although until they could monitor how quickly the disease progressed it was unclear how long they could hold her off.

The news had hit him like a ton of bricks, and if Catherine and Warrick hadn't been standing beside him, he probably would have fallen to the ground. How could something like this happen to them? Sara was in great health, and besides a bit of morning sickness, the pregnancy had been progressing well. Her checkups hadn't even hinted at a problem, and now he was being told that Sara would have to stay in the hospital for possibly 10 more weeks.

As if that news hadn't been terrible enough, he was also presented with the knowledge that the longer they waited to induce labor, the higher the chances of complications for both Sara and the baby grew. They had been so happy just the day before, and now it felt like they were hitting rock bottom.

2 hours later, he still hadn't been able to fully grasp the idea of what was going on. He glanced towards Catherine, groaning loudly when he saw his mother coming down the hallway, "Hide me."

Catherine turned to see what Greg was watching, then turned back to Greg with a sympathetic smile, "She can't be that bad."

"She just came from seeing Sara, and she's got _that look_ on her face." Greg muttered, "Nothing good ever comes from _that look_."

Nora stopped a few feet from Catherine and Greg, and in a quiet voice she told her son, "I've just had a long chat with Sara. She's told me everything the two of you have been hiding from your father and I."

"I'll take that as my cue to leave." Catherine whispered, standing and patting Greg's shoulder, "I'm going to go check on Sara."

Greg stood, nervously sticking his hands in his pockets as he tried to avoid his mother's piercing gaze. For a moment, both were silent, but after the tension started to evaporate, Greg was surprised to find his mother flinging her arms around his nervous frame.

"Greg, you will never understand how much it means to me that you would go out of your way to keep your father and I happy. Your sisters, Elisa, Kelly, Janet...they would never go to such elaborate lengths to stop from disappointing us." She hugged her son tightly before pulling back slightly, "Now, don't get me wrong, I'm very unhappy to hear that you've been lying to us, you now how I feel about lying..."

"I know." Greg mumbled, "I just...I wanted you to be proud of your granddaughter...I didn't want the situation to hang over her head for her whole life. I didn't want you guys to be disappointed in me and my decisions..."

Nora rubbed Greg's back as he laid his head on her shoulder, holding on tightly to his mother for the first time in nearly 15 years--if not 20. She was surprised to feel his hot tears seeping through her shirt moments later as he sobbed, "Mom, I picked a fight with her and got her worked up...even though it was staged, I didn't stop when she told me to. What if I made her blood pressure rise? What if this is my fault?"

"No, no Greg." Nora soothed, "Her blood pressure is a symptom, not a cause. You couldn't have possibly caused this to happen...but I can guarantee you that right now the woman you love--"

"Sara's not--"

Nora interrupted in a no-nonsense tone, "Don't be crazy, Greg, it's clear you love her. The woman you love is sitting in a hospital bed, beating herself up because you aren't in there to comfort her when she needs you the most. The two of you need to have a long, good, deep conversation."

"I love you Mom."

"I love you too, Greg." Nora pulled away, wiping away her own stray tears before using her thumbs to dry Greg's cheeks, "She's waiting for you, son."

It was all of the encouragement Greg needed to get him face to face with Sara's door. Creaking it open, he wasn't too surprised to see Catherine standing at the foot of the bed, Nick and Warrick nearby.

"Uh, guys? Can Sara and I have a few minutes alone?"

Catherine raised her eyebrow slightly, motioning for Warrick and Nick to follow her out of the room. Passing by Greg, she gave him an encouraging smile, and with a soft click of the door, the two were left alone.

"So...you came."

"Sorry I didn't come for you sooner." Greg replied, sitting on her bed and squeezing her hand as Nora had done earlier, "I wanted to..."

"But you were scared?"

Greg nodded, his cheeks flushing pink, "I guess that was pretty stupid of me."

Sara shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears, "I'm pretty scared too."

Greg leaned over, their faces centimeters apart as he whispered, "There's nothing that we can't do if we stick together."

Their lips briefly met, and after a moment Greg let his forehead rest against Sara's, staring into her eyes, "We can do this."

"Together."

"Every step of the way." Greg's lips found Sara's once more and he murmured softly, "Every single step."

TBC


	17. Miracles

_Author's Notes: Finally, the last chapter of the longest story I've ever written. Lol. Hope you enjoy, let me know your final thoughts! I looove reviews! _

_Jenny_

**Chapter 17:**

He was trying not to panic. Trying being the key word. How could he not panic, though, when no one in this damn hospital seemed to know where his girlfriend was?

For the past four weeks, he had fallen into a constant routine. Work, hospital, sleep. Get up, grab a quick meal and shower, and head back to the hospital until it was time for work.

Sara had tried to convince him that he didn't need to come by so often, but he didn't want to let her out of his sight more than absolutely necessary. If he were allowed to sleep in the hospital with her, he would probably never visit his apartment.

He had been worried when he found her room empty, but had convinced himself that there was a reasonable explanation. After all, if it had been serious, wouldn't the flowers and cards have been moved along with her? After waiting anxiously for a few minutes, he had headed to the nurses station, intent on getting some reassurance. He had received none, after being informed that the head nurse had no idea where Sara had gone.

Rushing to the nurses station near the labor and delivery unit, the third place he had tried, he anxiously spat out, "I'm looking for Sara Sidle, she isn't in her room." Greg asked in a panic, his hands resting on the counter of the nurses station, "Has she been moved?"

The nurse punched some information into her computer, a sympathetic frown on her face as she tapped the screen gently, "Miss Sidle has been taken into surgery for an emergency cesarean. I'll page the on-call doctor to explain what is going on."

Greg nodded, the room wavering slightly as the nurse's words sank in. Surgery. Emergency C-Section. Their baby was being delivered. Early. Very early. Numbly, he sank into a nearby chair, running his fingers through his hair with a heavy sigh.

He had gotten off of a particularly disturbing shift early, anxious to see Sara and inform her of all she was missing while on continued observation at the hospital. He had been concerned to find her bed empty, but upon hearing that she was in surgery, he felt terrified.

"Mr. Sanders?"

Greg looked up with relief to see the familiar face of Dr. Henley, one of the many doctors who had treated Sara over the past few weeks. "What's going on?" he asked breathlessly, his head pounding, his heart racing, "Why are they taking the baby out?"

"Mr. Sanders, calm down." Dr. Henley began, reaching out towards the trembling younger man.

Greg jerked away, his eyes blazing, "No! I won't calm down! No one will tell me anything! When I left, 9 hours ago, she was perfectly fine, and all of a sudden she's having a c-section? What the hell is going on?"

"Mr. Sanders, please sit down." Dr. Henley suggested, taking a seat and motioning for Greg to sit beside her, "With Sara's condition, we have to act in the interest of the mother over the interest of the child."

Greg nodded solemnly, his hands beginning to tremble as he waited for the doctor to proceed.

"As you have been made aware, her condition has been slowly deteriorating since she's been diagnosed. This isn't uncommon for women with preeclampsia, and we've been closely monitoring her progression for any warning signs that danger to indicate that either she or the baby was in danger."

Dr. Henley paused, pulling her glasses off as she rubbed her forehead tiredly, "Earlier this evening, shortly after you left, Sara's blood pressure had an extreme spike. This caused her to have a seizure, and since then her condition has been rapidly deteriorating. After her last exam, we decided it would be in her best interest to remove the fetus."

"Oh my God." Greg breathed softly, clenching his hands into fists to try and stop them from shaking as he grew lightheaded, "Is she alright? The baby?"

"Sara's blood pressure is dangerously high, and we're concerned with the seizure activity, but after delivery both of these areas should improve. As I'm sure you are aware, any time we have to deliver a baby at this stage of pregnancy, there are tremendous risks involved. Sara is just over 26 weeks gestation, and even with the medications we've been administering to boost growth in the fetus, we won't know what condition the baby is in until she has been delivered."

Greg's head dropped into his hands as he tried to absorb all of this information. After taking a few deep breaths, he raised his head to meet Dr. Henley's concerned gaze, "What are the baby's chances?"

"I can't make guarantees, Mr. Sanders, but for most premature babies born at 26 weeks, there's an 80 percent chance of survival. The baby's weight, health, development...so many things contribute to these odds, so it's very hard to pinpoint an exact figure. We're doing everything we can for Sara and the baby."

"Thank you." Greg murmured, his eyes trailing to the floor as the doctor stood. Forcing his legs to cooperate, he shakily stood, shaking the petite woman's hand.

"Please have me paged if you have any questions. I'll let the operating staff know you're waiting on word."

Greg nodded, sinking numbly back into his chair with a groan. He had expected they'd take the baby early, but this was definitely earlier than he had thought. He rested his elbows on his knees, letting his head droop as he tried to steady his frazzled nerves. He never felt strongly about religion one way or the other, but as he waited on news about the two most important people in his life, he began to pray that they'd both fare okay.

--

"Mom, it's Greg..." Greg spoke softly over his cell phone, "They're taking the baby."

"_Already? Why didn't you call your father and I sooner? We could have taken a flight down--"_

"Mom!" Greg interrupted tiredly, "I didn't know, they had to do an emergency c-section, I'm still waiting on word."

"_Are they alright? What happened? Call me when you find out something, okay sweetheart? Your father and I will be on the next flight out. How are you holding up? Do you need anything? Do you have anyone with you? How long has she been in surgery?"_

Greg sighed, rubbing his temple with his free hand, "Slow down, Mom. I don't know exactly what happened, I just got here. I just wanted to let you know. I'll call you when I know more...just...keep her in your prayers, okay?"

"_Of course I will."_ Nora soothed quietly, _"We're on our way, we'll call you with flight details. Love you, sweetie."_

"Thanks Mom. Love you too."

Greg hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. It would take his parents hours to get to Vegas, even if they could get out on a flight tonight. Calmed by his mother's promise to show up, along with her tender words, he found himself start to relax, his head clearing enough to remind him to call his friends and let them know what was going on as well.

--

The minutes ticked by as if they were hours, each painstakingly slow moment feeling like an eternity. Greg's head ached as he stood, stretching his legs in a vain attempt to keep calm.

The truth was, he was anything but calm. The procedure, according to Catherine, shouldn't have taken long, but it had been nearly an hour since he had arrived and there was still no word on Sara's condition. The longer he was forced to wait in the confines of the sterile white walls, the larger his anxiety grew, worst-case scenarios causing icy waves to roll through his nervous stomach.

"Sara's a fighter, she's going to pull through this with flying colors." Warrick said softly, placing his hand on Greg's shoulder, "And if that baby is anything like her parents, she's going to be a tough little cookie."

Greg managed a small smile as he glanced up at his friend, the small words of comfort taking some of the pressure off of his aching heart, "Thanks man."

"I call it like I see it." Warrick replied, "I'd ask if you'd like some coffee...but you look like you could use a shot of whiskey."

"Got a flask?" Greg asked with a wry smile, "Anything to take the edge off."

Warrick firmly patted Greg's shoulder again, giving it a slight squeeze, "I told you, she's going to be fine. Take a deep breath and try to calm down a bit, don't focus on what could happen, that will drive you crazy."

"Too late."

"Well, you've always been a little crazy." Warrick smiled, relieved to see Greg chuckle slightly, "See, there's the Sanders spirit we all have grown to love."

"Thanks man." Greg replied, sinking back into his chair, only to jump up again when Sara's OBGYN walked into the room, a relieved smile on his face.

"Greg?" Dr. Martin called, waving the younger man over, "Let's get you scrubbed up...you've got a girlfriend and a beautiful baby daughter waiting to see you."

Relief flooded through Greg so quickly that he was nearly certain he was about to pass out. He barely felt when Warrick reached out to steady him, the doctor's words replaying through his mind.

"They're both okay?"

"Sara is in recovery, we're going to monitor her for a bit until we're sure she's stable, but she's alert and anxious to see you. It was touch and go a bit during the beginning, but both mother and child pulled through magnificently. Of course, since the baby was premature, we are observing her in the NICU until she's stable enough to be placed into the regular nursery. She had a little difficulty breathing when we first got her out, but that's fairly common with preemies, she seems to be very strong." Dr. Martin said with a tender smile, "Are you ready to go see them?"

With a silent nod, Greg followed the doctor through the nearby double doors, anxiety compressing his chest. They were okay. Both of them. Dr. Martin motioned towards a large white room, whispering softly, "She's the only one in maternal recovery right now, take a few moments with her, and when you're ready to see the baby, one of the nurses will escort you."

Greg barely heard the doctor's words as he stepped into the sterile white room, his eyes drawn to Sara's tired, pale face. He quietly walked towards her, bending over to kiss her forehead gently while taking her hand into his own, "Hey there."

"Oh Greg, you're here. I wanted them to wait for you, but they wouldn't let--" Sara murmured sleepily, squeezing his hand softly, "Have you seen her?"

"Not yet." Greg replied soothingly, stroking her hair, "I've been so worried about you. I'm so glad that you are okay, that she is."

"Katelyn." Sara said quietly, looking up to meet Greg's eyes, "Katelyn Layne. That's her name."

Greg smiled, trying not to take in the monitors and tubes scattered around his fragile girlfriend, "That's beautiful, Sara. I love it. How are you feeling?"

"Not in pain." Sara said with a slight smile, motioning towards her stomach, which was covered in ice and cold towels, "Epidural. I watched almost the entire thing. The ice and such is to reduce swelling. I asked. I wanted you with me...they said that it's normally allowed, but even if you had been here, it was too risky to let you stay."

Greg nodded, one hand still toying with her hair, "Everyone's waiting for you. We're so glad that you're going to be alright. God, Sara, I love you so much. I was so scared I'd lose you forever."

Sara reached up to brush away a tear from Greg's cheek, "Don't cry, we're okay. Go, go to Katelyn and see for yourself that she's alive. She's a little fighter...after they took her out, and got her breathing normally, she wailed and kicked her pediatrician away."

"She's going to be just like her mother." Greg smirked, "Two Sara's. I don't know if the world can handle it."

Sara smiled tiredly, her eyes drifting closed, "Haha, Greg, very funny." She yawned widely, squeezing his hand, "I'm tired, Greg."

"Get some rest, you've earned it." Greg whispered, kissing her forehead, "I'll go see Katelyn and I'll come back to you."

"Okay...love you." Sara murmured, her hand limply sliding out of Greg's as she drifted to sleep.

Greg smiled, stroking her hair softly, "I love you too, baby."

Meeting the nurse in the doorway, he was led to the NICU, where he slid on a pair of scrubs and gloves, taking the face mask from the nurse before he was allowed into the room.

He immediately knew which one was his daughter. They all looked alike, their tiny arms like toothpicks against the tidy white sheets, but he was drawn to Katelyn with some sort of undescribable bond. Reaching timidly to stroke her small hand, he whispered softly, "Hello there Katelyn, I'm your Daddy."

Her tiny chest moved difficultly as she inhaled, wiggling slightly, her legs kicking and probing. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he laughed as she squeezed his finger for a brief second, as if she knew that he was her Daddy, and that he was there to protect her. Her brown curls were matted to her head, and as she squirmed, the nurse spoke softly, "She's a strong little girl, a real fighter. She's kicked her IV out twice already, she's determined and strong willed. I think she's going to be just fine."

"She's so small." Greg whispered, his voice thick with tears, "I can't believe that came out of another human being."

"It's amazing, isn't it?" The nurse murmured in response, "She was just over two pounds, which is a great starting weight for a little girl who's had so much thrown at her. Do you want to hold her?"

Greg hesitated, his eyes widening as he surveyed the tubes and wires coming from Katelyn's frail body, "Won't that hurt her?"

"Not if you're gentle. I'll help you." the nurse replied, carefully lifting the baby and lowering her into Greg's arms as Katelyn let out a shrill yell, "It's okay sweetheart, you're with your Daddy now."

Greg looked down at the bundle in his arms, his eyes wide and his face ashen. He was holding his daughter. His child. _His_ child. He was a father. As he stood in the warm NICU unit, Katelyn nestled in his arms, it felt as if the world shifted and everything had fallen into place. All of the lies, the pain, the fear...it was all for this one moment. He and Sara were going to bring this baby home. It was their daughter.

Katelyn's cries quieted and she struggled to look upwards, her movements unsteady. As their eyes contacted, Greg knew he was in love.

**The End. **


End file.
